ISLAMABAD: The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients jumped to 15,525 on Wednesday, with 5,827 cases reported in Punjab, 5,695 in Sindh, 2,313 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 978 in Balochistan, 333 in Gilgit Baltistan, 313 in Islamabad and 66 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 343 lives while some 3,425 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

The emergence of 404 more coronavirus cases in Sindh – the highest reported in a day thus far – and the infection death toll hitting 100, with the virus claiming another eight lives, is indicative of the worsening pandemic crisis in the province, pointed out Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. “This is a very serious situation as we [continue] to detect more cases and [bury] more bodies [by each passing day], despite the recovery ratio increasing to 20.5 per cent,” the chief minister remarked in a video statement issued on Wednesday. While the increase in the recovery ratio is encouraging, he said, “We have to [continue to work towards] saving the lives of our people.”

Speaking with regard to the detection of 404 more cases on Wednesday, the chief minister said it is worrisome that of those, 332 belong to Karachi. “Coronavirus cases and deaths are on the rise in Karachi [in particular],” he added.

Giving a breakdown of the cases reported in Karachi, he outlined that of the city’s 332 cases, 113 were reported from South district, 100 from East district, 39 from Central district, 37 from Korangi district, 26 from West district and 17 from Malir district.

“I request the people of Karachi to adopt precautionary measures, including the use of masks, staying at a distance from children and elderly and avoiding going out unnecessarily,” he implored citizens, warning that “otherwise they would see horrible results.”

Besides Karachi, 14 more cases were detected in Sukkur, 13 each in Khairpur and Larkana and seven each in Shaheed Benazirabad and Shikarpur, the chief minister said. Keeping in view these numbers, he said that the province’s Covid-19 tally had climbed to 5,695.

On a separate note, he shared that 4,426 coronavirus patients are under treatment in Sindh, of whom 3,187 are isolated at their homes, 762 at isolation centres and 447 at hospitals. Among them, 54, including 18 on ventilator, are critically ill, he said.

Moreover, he said that 208 patients were sent home after recovery on Wednesday, raising the count of recovered patients to 1,169.

He also gave updates on the return of stranded citizens, saying that flights from Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi had brought 505 more citizens to Karachi, all of whom were tested and 69 among them were found infected while the results of 39 people were yet to come. Twenty-six government officers have been put into quarantine given that they attended an event held in Governor Imran Ismail’s honour last week.

The event was held on April 22. Ismail announced he has tested positive on April 27. The quarantined individuals include the Matiari deputy commissioner, superintendent of police and district health officer. “We will all be tested for the coronavirus,” said the deputy commissioner.

Some 153 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the provincial tally to 2,313, according to the provincial health department. The province also recorded eight new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 122.

Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani confirmed that 63 more cases of the coronavirus had been reported in the province, taking the total to 978. At least 58 of the new cases emerged in Quetta and one in Qilla Abdullah.