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Coronavirus in Pakistan

Syed1 said:
Silver lining is that a 1000 people recovered today. That is amazing. So recovery curve is trailing behind cases curve by about 2-3 weeks. If we somehow manage to keep new cases to around same level for 2 weeks then our active cases would start dropping
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cant happen until after the Eid break. I would say around about August time would be when we see cases flattening but lets see..
 
Punjab govt extends market timings for Eid shopping

Punjab government has extended the timings for shopping malls and markets across the province until 10pm for Eid shopping.

The announcement was made by provincial minister for industries and commerce, Mian Aslam Iqbal, in a tweet.

"From tomorrow, shopping malls and markets in Punjab will remain open until 10pm instead of 5pm," Iqbal said.

He added that all motorways in the province will remain open round-the-clock.
 
Good thing is there is literally no fear of coronavirus among masses now people roaming freely in all segments of society to hell with corona
 
Covid-19 infections trended higher in recent days and were approaching 50,000, official data showed, with total deaths crossing 1,000, as the government remained unsure over the consequences of its decision to end the nation's lockdown.

Fearful of the economic and financial impact, and swayed by the acute hardship suffered by millions of poor families, Prime Minister Imran Khan has defended the lifting of the lockdown last week, saying the virus spread has been well below projections.

Education is the only major sector that remains closed.

“The ending of the lockdown doesn't mean the threat is over,” Yasmeen Rashid, the Punjab health minister, said in an interview on television on Wednesday, adding that people needed to adopt safety measures themselves.

How the nation of 207 million people behaves when the month of Ramazan ends and festivities for Eid begin could influence the course of the contagion.

Usually Eid draws big crowds to malls and shops, and people travel in droves to reach their hometowns. While the government has advised people to act responsibly, and avoid going out for non-essential reasons, there has been little mention of special precautions needed over this period.

For a country of Pakistan's size, levels of testing remain low at around 14,000 a day. But Reuters calculations, using official data, suggest the infection rate has so far remained relatively steady, with total infections doubling every 9 to 11 days since April 1.

Doctors and experts fear the country's under-funded and creaking healthcare system will crumble under the pressure if the contagion gathers more pace.

In the first 20 days of May, over 630 people have died, compared to around 380 in the entire month of April, data tabulated by Reuters shows. There were less than 10 deaths in March.

The 32 deaths reported on Wednesday took the total to 1,017, a government website showed, making Pakistan the 25th country worldwide where the toll has crossed a thousand.

On Tuesday, Pakistan reported the most deaths for a single day at 46.

Infections on Wednesday were reported at 2,193 — the second highest for a single day — taking the total number of Covid-19 cases to 48,091.

Regardless of the final death toll, the country expects to suffer an awful human cost, as the government expects millions more of its people to fall into poverty.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that the economy will shrink 1.5 per cent this year, and the government is expected to miss major revenue and deficit targets, making it more dependent on loans from multilateral lenders.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1558737/lockdown-over-pakistans-covid-19-deaths-infections-tick-higher
 
1,064 recoveries recorded in Pakistan

In the past 24 hours, 1,064 more people have recovered from the novel coronavirus, the government's official Covid-19 portal said.

The latest figures take the total number of recoveries to 15,201. The total number of cases in Pakistan currently is 50,694.

==

124 cases reported in Islamabad, federal territories collectively

Islamabad and the federal territories have recorded 124 additional cases, the government's official Covid-19 portal said.

The federal capital detected 91 new cases while 23 were recorded in Gilgit Baltistan. Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 10 more cases.

Two deaths were also reported in the federal capital, taking city's death toll to 12.

==

Pakistan's tally crosses 50,000 mark as Punjab records 1,073 new cases

Punjab has recorded 1,073 additional cases and 13 deaths, according to figures until 9pm last night.

With the latest figures, Pakistan has joined the list of countries that have more than 50,000 cases.

The total number of cases in Punjab is now 18,455, out of which 60 are critical. The provincial death toll is 310.
 
Some disturbing news from Lahore from a close acquaintance (doctor) :

Tells me that Lahore hospitals are full of Covid patients and govt not reporting - and its mayhem in shops - all docs now waiting for this to blow up - says deaths being under-reported also.

Obviously I cannot confirm this but its worrying.
 
This Eid, don't hug your loved ones, wear a mask when you meet them: SAPM Mirza

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that all standard operating procedures and precautions given to the public must be followed on Eid.

"This Eid is different than any other Eid we've ever had. This year you should avoid hugging your loved ones and wear a mask when you meet them," Mirza said.

"Like in Ramazan we said that people should avoid going to the mosque and make every home a mosque, we have the same advice on Eid. People should start their Eid day by praying their special namaz at home."

"As this is the last week of Ramazan, we should look around us and find ways to help those who need our help but may not be able to ask for it. Ramazan and Eid are times of caring and sharing," the prime minister's special assistant said.
 
Fifty more people have died from Covid-19 in Pakistan, the government reports, its third highest official daily death toll since the pandemic began, bringing the total number of deaths from the outbreak to 1,067.

According to the latest update, out of 16,387 tests carried out in the past 24 hours, 2,603 people tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 47,429. So far, 15,201 people have recovered.

Sindh is the country’s worst affected province, with 19,924 infected people, followed by Punjab, with 18,455.
 
Crisis after crisis and crisis entering chronic stage may Allah have mercy on us testing times ahead
 
149 new cases recorded in federal territories

The national database for coronavirus shows that 131 new cases have been recorded in Islamabad, 13 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and five in Gilgit Baltistan

Total number of coronavirus cases in each territory:

Islamabad: 1,457
Gilgit Baltistan: 607
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 171
The addition of these new cases takes the national tally to 52,162.

===

1,452 more people have recovered from coronavirus in Pakistan

The national database for coronavirus shows that 1,452 more people have recovered from the virus in the country.

The total number of recoveries now stands at 16,653.
 
762 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Sindh in the past 24 hours along with 14 more deaths
 
If Islamabad is hovering at 5-7 percent positive rate or 100 cases daily with the most robust tracing program in the country along with the most test per capita, then the rest of the cities are surely above this. Which means we are not catching most of the cases.

The effect of the last few days will be visible in the coming few days and it's becoming more and more clear that lifting the lockdown before Eid was as bad a decision as you could have made.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightagainstCoronavirus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FightagainstCoronavirus</a> <a href="https://t.co/ctjD6V4zPM">pic.twitter.com/ctjD6V4zPM</a></p>— Salman Iqbal ARY (@Salman_ARY) <a href="https://twitter.com/Salman_ARY/status/1264138982125973511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Balochistan reports 108 new coronavirus cases

Balochistan has reported 108 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, according to the provincial health department.

The total number of infections in the province now stands at 3,306.
 
Damn so today new cases and recovered were almost the same. This is amazing and unexpected I hope the trend continues. Though looking at the measures are taking (not) this seems like an unlikely scenario.
 
Syed1 said:
Damn so today new cases and recovered were almost the same. This is amazing and unexpected I hope the trend continues. Though looking at the measures are taking (not) this seems like an unlikely scenario.
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Yes, I doubt this happens again. We can only hope that the peak in Pakistan is not bad as the UK, Europe or America.
 
545 recoveries recorded in Pakistan

About 545 recoveries have been recorded in Pakistan, the government's Covid-19 portal said.

The total number of recoveries in the country has gone up to 17,198, while the death toll stands at 1,125.

173 new cases emerge in Islamabad, GB, AJK collectively; capital records 2 deaths

Pakistan has recorded 173 additional cases in Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir collectively.

Two deaths have also been recorded in Islamabad, taking the federal capital's death toll to 14.

According to the government's Covid-19 portal, 135 cases have been confirmed in the federal capital, 12 in Gilgit Baltistan and 26 in AJK.
 
72pc Covid-19 patients are over 50, NCOC data says

The data of the National Command and Operation Centre on coronavirus shows that as many as 72 per cent of total patients are over the age of 50 years.

Besides, 74pc of the patients are male and 72pc of them have comorbidities, which means that the patients are suffering from more than one disease at the same time. Conditions described as comorbidities are often chronic or long-term conditions.
 
PTV to broadcast Eid prayers from Faisal Mosque to 'facilitate' people praying at home

In order to encourage people to pray at home, the state-run PTV will broadcast Eid prayers from Faisal Mosque, the information minister has said.
 
Balochistan reports 101 new cases, 1 more death

Balochistan has reported 101 new coronavirus cases, taking the provincial total to 3,407, according to the daily situation report released by the provincial health department.

The province has also reported one more death. The total fatalities from the virus in the province have risen to 40.
 
1,748 new Coronavirus cases and 34 deaths from the disease reported in the past 24 hours in Pakistan
 
Mirza warns of 'huge tragedy' if precautions not taken, says cases rising rapidly

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza warned on Monday that Pakistan's coronavirus cases and deaths were on the rise and urged the nation to take precautions otherwise the situation could turn into a "huge tragedy".

"Unfortunately, there is now this thinking among us that this disease [Covid-19] was only here till Eid and that somehow it'll disappear after Eid. This is a huge misunderstanding.

"I want to warn Pakistanis that if you don't take precautionary measures, this crisis could turn into a huge tragedy," Mirza said during a press conference in Islamabad.

Lamenting that the government's instructions and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not being followed, the prime minister's special assistant warned that if the situation continues, the lockdown may come into effect again.

"As we promised when we eased the lockdown, if this trend continues we may reimpose strict lockdowns after Eid," Mirza said.

"I urge the nation to act with extreme responsibly to curb the spread of the virus. The cases are rising very fast and we need to be careful, more than ever."

Enumerating coronavirus statistics from around the world, prime minister's aide stated that Covid-19 has now infected more than 5.5 million people globally and killed nearly 350,000.

"But the characteristic of this disease is that a huge majority of the patients recover from it — therefore the good news is that millions have also recovered and are now healthy," he said.

He clarified that most of the active cases in the country were mild and those patients were quarantining at home. He requested them to stay at home and recuperate until they are tested negative.

"Unfortunately, there are 112 patients intubated in Pakistan right now. These patients are critically ill and are fighting for their life and death at this very moment." Mirza said, as he warned that the number of critically ill patients in the country was rising rapidly.

He said the spread of the virus could only be halted by staying at home as much as possible, practicing social distancing, wearing masks and taking precautionary measures while going out.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1559419/m...ecautions-not-taken-says-cases-rising-rapidly
 
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has hinted that the country may be subjected to further lockdown if the number of coronavirus cases and deaths surged.

Mirza, while speaking to the media in Islamabad, warned that any further negligence over the implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) could worsen the situation as the daily number of cases skyrocketed.

As of now, 56,792 people have been detected to have contracted the virus while 1,169 of them have lost the battle against the disease.

He said that the government will assess the situation after Eid and make a decision on reimposing the lockdown, which was relaxed earlier this month.

Last week, the Supreme Court had directed the government to lift the remaining restrictions on the businesses and markets. The court ordered that shopping malls should also be allowed to reopen.

In its decision, which is binding, the court said the virus "apparently is not a pandemic in Pakistan" and questioned why fighting it was "swallowing so much money".

Re-opened markets were immediately packed with customers with little sign of social distancing or face masks.

"Pakistanis are under the wrong impression that the prevalence of the disease is reducing," Dr Zafar Mirza said.

He said it is being observed that movement and interaction of people have increased during the Eid holidays and the SOPs are not being properly followed, which could lead to a “disastrous situation.”

The SAPM said social distancing and other precautionary measures are a key to stop the spread of this contagious disease.

"We don’t know when this virus will end. There are some 37,700 active cases in the country and the numbers are rising," he said.

The SAPM revealed that testing has been beefed up and till yesterday 483,000 tests were conducted.

“The recovery rate is 38%.”

"I urge people to prevent the spread of the virus and not become the reason for it," he said.

Sindh rejects curfew report
Separately, Sindh government spokesman, Murtaza Wahab rejected a media report that the authorities are mulling to impose curfew in the province in order to curb the spread of the virus.

He was responding to a report aired by a private news channel.

Advising the people to ignore the fake news, Murtaza said, “Sindh government has not made any such decision.”

He, however, urged the masses to follow the SOPs and help the government in containing the virus.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/289785-dr-zafar-mirza-cautions
 
832 more people have recovered from coronavirus in Pakistan

The national database for coronavirus shows that 832 more people have recovered from coronavirus in Pakistan.

This takes Pakistan's total number of recoveries to 18,314.
 
Federal territories report 100 more coronavirus cases, 2 deaths
The national database for coronavirus shows that 100 new cases have been reported in Pakistan.

A breakup of the cases:

87 new cases in Islamabad take the capital's total to 1,728
11 new cases take Gilgit Baltistan's tally to 630
Two new cases in Azad Jammu and Kashmir take its tally to 211
Pakistan's total number of coronavirus cases stand at 57,128.

Islamabad and Gilgit Baltistan have also reported one new death each, taking the total number of deaths in Pakistan to 1,128.
 
Pakistan may reimpose lockdown as cases rise

Pakistan's top health official has warned that lockdown might resume as cases and deaths rise.

Dr Zafar Mirza urged citizens to follow social distancing measures, warning that a "strict lockdown" was on the cards if infections continued to swell.

Pakistan lifted its lockdown in phases, starting earlier this month. The country has more than 57,000 confirmed cases and 1,197 deaths so far.

"I want to warn Pakistanis that if you don't take precautionary measures, this crisis could turn into a huge tragedy," said Dr Mirza.

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Strategy what strategy Pakistan's public partying on a volcano as coronavirus crisis gets chronic
 
This country is done with lockdowns. During the initial phase, the public was motivated but the government was not effective in imposing a lockdown. Now, the people have lost motivation because they are not dropping dead like flies and have started to treat it casually.
 
Pakistani govt needs to impose heavy duty bankrupting fines on people blatantly disrespecting the lockdown
 
Mamoon said:
This country is done with lockdowns. During the initial phase, the public was motivated but the government was not effective in imposing a lockdown. Now, the people have lost motivation because they are not dropping dead like flies and have started to treat it casually.
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Whats your experience of lockdowns in Pakistan - done properly or half-heartedly?
 
Pakistan now has 59,133 confirmed coronavirus cases
Deaths: 1,225
Recoveries: 19,142

Active cases: 38,784

Total tests conducted so far: 499,399
 
MenInG said:
Whats your experience of lockdowns in Pakistan - done properly or half-heartedly?
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It is true that our nation cannot cope with a complete lockdown, but the critical mistake was not putting a downright ban on congregational prayers.

The government was deluding itself into thinking that the public would observe social distancing in mosques and taking necessary precautions.

The mosques are still getting filled to max capacity with the vast majority of people not wearing masks. Thus, there was nothing smart about this so-called smart lockdown and it had had minimal impact in curbing the spread.

Furthermore, a lot of people have bought into the anti-mask campaign which is pure propaganda. Wearing masks make a huge difference especially in overpopulated countries like Pakistan where social distancing isn’t always achievable.
 
Pakistan government mulls renewed lockdown measures as cases surge

Pakistan's government is mulling a renewed lockdown after its move to lift many coronavirus restrictions over the past two weeks led to a surge in new cases.

Defacto health minister Zafar Mirza said there had been a "severe rush" to markets and people were behaving as if "the virus had been eradicated" since the curbs were relaxed.Pakistan government mulls renewed lockdown measures as cases surge

Pakistan's government is mulling a renewed lockdown after its move to lift many coronavirus restrictions over the past two weeks led to a surge in new cases.

Defacto health minister Zafar Mirza said there had been a "severe rush" to markets and people were behaving as if "the virus had been eradicated" since the curbs were relaxed.
 
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Mamoon said:
This country is done with lockdowns. During the initial phase, the public was motivated but the government was not effective in imposing a lockdown. Now, the people have lost motivation because they are not dropping dead like flies and have started to treat it casually.
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Welcome back [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]
ICU beds , Ventilators, isolation wards of my hospital are filled to capacity. No more vacant ventilators. (Faisalabad).

One Surgical Ward has been evacuated and turned into an additional isolation ward.

How's the situation in KPK and LRH ?
 
Mamoon said:
This country is done with lockdowns. During the initial phase, the public was motivated but the government was not effective in imposing a lockdown. Now, the people have lost motivation because they are not dropping dead like flies and have started to treat it casually.
Click to expand...

true. I spoke to a relative of mine who managed to make it back to canada, and he said people think they have special immunity and have stopped caring. The attitude is "plenty of diseases here without Covid and if your gonna die well your die one day anyway"

I think the govt realised this early on and knew their lockdown would never last more than a few weeks.

is it me or have deaths come down in the last twenty four hours?
 
Now india is testing more people in a day than Pakistan.

So how many people are Pakistan testing per day in total roughly ?

and those Pakistan ventilators how many have been made and how many are we using /have in total?
 
Hospitals in Peshawar are dealing with an influx of coronavirus patients which has left some health facilities in the province struggling to provide them and others with medical treatment, it emerged on Wednesday.

As of May 26, the province has reported a total of 8,259 cases and 416 deaths, which is the highest death toll reported in the country.

According to directives issued by the health department, only patients showing serious symptoms should be admitted to hospitals while those with mild symptoms should self-isolate at home.

Despite this, the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) administration said that they have had to stop admitting new coronavirus patients as they do not have enough beds at the moment.

Speaking to Dawn.com, a spokesman for the hospital administration said they had started referring patients to other hospitals.

They attributed the rise in the number of patients to plasma therapy being offered at the hospital for treating the respiratory illness; HMC is currently the only hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which offers the experimental treatment.

"We are not accepting new or referred patients at the moment as we are facing a shortage of beds and other facilities," HMC spokesperson Toueed Zulfiqar told Dawn.com, adding that the hospital is currently focusing on catering to the needs of patients already under treatment.

According to Zulfiqar, the hospital has 90 beds in the isolation facility for Covid-19 patients, out of which 85 are already occupied.

"Beds are not a big issue, but we have to provide other facilities such as ventilators, oxygen etc.," Zulfiqar said, adding that the administration is trying to arrange more beds for the isolation facility.

"For the past two weeks our patient inflow has increased almost three to four times," Zulfiqar added. The spokesperson attributed the increase to patients specifically seeking out the hospital after it started plasma therapy.

According to a press release by HMC, 2,571 patients visited the hospital during the Eidul Fitr holidays.

"HMC is the only MTI hospital in KP and the number of patients has increased. Patients are also flocking to the facility for plasma therapy," the statement said.

It added that Covid-19 patients required one to two oxygen cylinders on a daily basis. "If there is a further increase in the number of patients, there may be a shortage of oxygen."

"Due to an overflow of patients, HMC cannot admit patients that have been referred to the facility," it added.

Meanwhile, Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) spokesperson Syeda Aliya said the hospital had two isolation units for Covid-19 patients with a total capacity of 55 beds, and a separate 30 beds reserved for staff.

She added that there are 40 patients including five staff members currently under treatment at KTH. "Out of 56 ventilators, 25 have been set aside for Covid-19 patients," she said.

Police Services Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Aurangzeb said they had 30 beds for Covid-19 patients out of which only six were currently occupied.

"The remaining beds are for those patients who are showing serious symptoms," he added.

The Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) administration also said they were not facing a shortage of beds.

In a statement, LRH Dean Professor Abdul Latif Khan said only 32 out of the 220-bed coronavirus complex was currently occupied.

"Only 10 of these patients have tested positive for the virus while the remaining are suspected patients," he said, adding that 22 suspected and confirmed patients had also been admitted to the intensive care unit.

He said more beds can be allocated for critical patients if the need arises. He also urged doctors to cooperate with the hospital administration, adding that all precautionary measures for ensuring their safety were being taken.
 
Pakistan’s Coronavirus cases

April 22 10,000
May 3 20,000
May 10 30,000
May 17 40,000
May 22 50,000
May 26 60,000
 
last_knight said:
Welcome back [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]
ICU beds , Ventilators, isolation wards of my hospital are filled to capacity. No more vacant ventilators. (Faisalabad).

One Surgical Ward has been evacuated and turned into an additional isolation ward.

How's the situation in KPK and LRH ?
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Well the situation is not to different in KP. LRH and HMC in particular are overloaded. A four story building in LRH has been vacated for Covid patients with cardiology and cardiothoracic getting relocated.

A major reason why the government hospitals are overloaded is because private hospitals like RMI etc. were unwilling to admit Covid patients up until now.
 
the Great Khan said:
true. I spoke to a relative of mine who managed to make it back to canada, and he said people think they have special immunity and have stopped caring. The attitude is "plenty of diseases here without Covid and if your gonna die well your die one day anyway"

I think the govt realised this early on and knew their lockdown would never last more than a few weeks.

is it me or have deaths come down in the last twenty four hours?
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What people don’t realize is that they might be able to resist Covid themselves but that doesn’t mean that they are not putting other people at risk. A young, healthy person can survive the infection but pass it on to an elderly person who could die, so it is important to not only think about your own safety but that of the community in general.
 
its become a total mess in the past two weeks and the federal government has to take a large blame for it.

Sindh government has also been more interested in playing politics and show that they are more serious than actually being serious but the PTI government is all over the place in terms of strategy or even understanding of the virus and its implications.
 
The army and the police need to enforce social distancing by danda, imposing bankrupting fines and even locking people in jail. The Pakistani nation only understands the danda
 
919 new coronavirus cases take Punjab's total to 22,037

Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department has confirmed 919 new coronavirus cases in the province, taking the total to 22,037.

It has also reported 19 more deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 381.

According to the department, the number of recoveries has risen to 6,326 while a total of 217,726 tests have been conducted in the province so far.

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Pakistan's Covid-19 recoveries cross 20,000

The number of people who have recovered from Covid-19 in Pakistan has crossed 20,000.

According to the government's Covid-19 portal, 1,089 more people recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries to 20,231.
 
finalfantasy7 said:
Now india is testing more people in a day than Pakistan.

So how many people are Pakistan testing per day in total roughly ?

and those Pakistan ventilators how many have been made and how many are we using /have in total?
Click to expand...

Bhai I don't think Pakistan was doing more test than India in general, but there rate per million was better, but look like Pak rate has gone down, currently 2346 in compare to India of 2486.
 
Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed passes away due to coronavirus in Peshawar

Senior journalist Fakhruddin Syed passed away due to the coronavirus, early on Thursday morning at Peshawar's Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).

HMC spokesperson Toueed Zulfiqar, while confirming the news, said the journalist had been in home isolation after testing positive for the virus but was shifted to the hospital five days ago after his condition worsened.

He added that Syed was being treated with plasma from recovered patients. "His health condition improved after plasma therapy."

However, Zulfiqar said Syed's condition deteriorated on Wednesday night, following which he was shifted to the intensive care unit and put on ventilator.

Syed was working for the TV channel 92 News. Previously he had worked for several reputed media organisations including Roznama Jihad, Roznama Pakistan, Aaj News and DawnNewsTV.

He leaves behind a widow and two daughters.

Last month, senior journalist Zafar Rasheed Bhatti passed away due to the coronavirus. It was the first such death reported from the disease in the country.

Bhatti, 70, had served as the head of the English desk at Associated Press of Pakistan and led the union of the state news agency.

Earlier this month, a report released by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said that the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of three media persons in the country and infected 156 others.

The report highlighted that camera journalists and photojournalists have been the biggest sufferers since the outbreak of Covid-19.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1559907/s...ed-passes-away-due-to-coronavirus-in-peshawar
 
Pakistan deploys militant-tracking tech to hunt confirmed and suspected virus patients

The intelligence services are deploying secretive surveillance technology normally used to locate militants to instead track coronavirus patients and the people they come into contact with.

In a programme publicly touted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government has turned to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for help in tackling the virus, which still is spreading at an accelerating rate across Pakistan.

Details about the project have not been released, but two officials told AFP that intelligence services are using geo-fencing and phone-monitoring systems that ordinarily are employed to hunt high-value targets including homegrown and foreign militants.

Geo-fencing, a discreet tracking system that alerts authorities when someone leaves a specific geographic area, has helped officials monitor neighbourhoods on lockdown.

Authorities are also listening in to the calls of Covid-19 patients to monitor whether their contacts are talking about having symptoms.

“The trace-and-track system basically helps us track the mobile phones of corona patients as well as anyone they get in touch with before of after their disappearance,” an intelligence official said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior security official told AFP that agencies are now “quite effectively” using the technology to track coronavirus cases.

“The government has been successful in tracing even those who tested positive but went into hiding,” the security official said.

A lack of awareness, stigma and fear have contributed to some people with symptoms not seeking treatment or even fleeing hospitals, while others who've had contact with virus patients have flouted self-isolation rules.

The prime minister recently praised the programme, which has come up against little public debate or scrutiny over its use in the virus fight.

“It was originally used against terrorism, but now it is has come in useful against coronavirus,” he said.

More than 61,000 people in Pakistan have tested positive for the disease and more than 1,200 patients have died.

But with testing still limited, officials worry the true numbers are much higher.

Concerns
Rights groups worry authorities, that are accused of holding a vast sway over many aspects of the country's cultural and political life, might abuse their sweeping surveillance powers to trace political dissidents.

Ex-senator Afrasiab Khattak told AFP that involving the ISI would spread unnecessary fear among the population.

“The task of tracking and tracing the patients and suspected cases should be dealt with by provincial governments and local communities — let intelligence agencies do their actual job,” he said.

Countries across the world have employed track-and-trace methods to control the virus's spread, raising privacy concerns.

Israel's intelligence services have been using counter-terrorism technology, including tracking mobile phones, prompting the Supreme Court to raise privacy concerns.

In Pakistan, authorities have struggled to present a cohesive national strategy to control the coronavirus. Prime Minister Imran was reluctant to call for a sweeping lockdown, arguing the impoverished country could not afford it. The premier has allowed businesses to reopen in phases, citing the economic impact on daily wage earners.

He also largely caved to pressure from the religious lobby, which pushed back against the closure of mosques.

Despite the prime minister's reluctance, the provinces imposed lockdowns to curb the spread but many citizens have simply ignored orders despite governments' pleas to stay indoors.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1559897/p...o-hunt-confirmed-and-suspected-virus-patients
 
Restaurant will be opened in Coronavirus punjab govt. passed its recommendations to fed. Govt talk about the severity of coronavirus
 
Navdeep Srivastava said:
Bhai I don't think Pakistan was doing more test than India in general, but there rate per million was better, but look like Pak rate has gone down, currently 2346 in compare to India of 2486.
Click to expand...

yeh sorry thats what i meant - rate per million - anyone what how many people we are testing per day? rough estimate
 
Punjab reports 927 new cases, 29 fatalities in highest single-day death toll

Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department has reported 927 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 22,964.

It has also recorded its highest single-day death toll so far as 29 additional fatalities were reported during the last 24 hours. The total number of deaths from the virus has reached 410.

Lahore is the most affected city of the province with 10,329 cases.

According to the department, 6,338 people have recovered while 223,074 tests have been conducted so far.
 
Pakistan’s reported its single biggest jump in deaths from Coronavirus in the last 24 hours with 57 reported deaths to 1,317

The tally counts only those which happen in hospitals and with a positive test (suspected cases and deaths at home without a positive test aren’t counted)
 
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I'm afraid the govt has decided it cannot stop this virus and they are now looking at what an acceptable casualty rate is. That is the only conclusion. best thing would be for people to stay safe and hope for the best. Our people will simply look to ride this out while the govt continues to try to ramp up health infrastructure.
 
Slog said:
its become a total mess in the past two weeks and the federal government has to take a large blame for it.

Sindh government has also been more interested in playing politics and show that they are more serious than actually being serious but the PTI government is all over the place in terms of strategy or even understanding of the virus and its implications.
Click to expand...

yeah I have to agree. they seem to have just thought that the people will be responsible but we all know that is not the case. I think they can recover from this but if this carries on we will see more deaths and problems..
 
While you guys are looking at the alarming rise in deaths and new cases also take a look at the alarming rise in recoveries. Over 2000 people recovered in a day, for the first time. If this trend continues then we will keep the active cases curve at a flat-ish trajectory. Do keep in mind no government can bring the new cases down to zero. Heck there might be only a handful of diseases in the world that have daily new cases at zero.
 
the Great Khan said:
I'm afraid the govt has decided it cannot stop this virus and they are now looking at what an acceptable casualty rate is. That is the only conclusion. best thing would be for people to stay safe and hope for the best. Our people will simply look to ride this out while the govt continues to try to ramp up health infrastructure.
Click to expand...

That was evident from start not just now. Everyone knew IK was as careless about severity of the diseas as Brazilian president. IK repeatedly claim our people are not falling like flies like in Italy or America and he calimed the hot weather is reason why corona won't be affective in Pakistan. IK doesn't really listens to his advisers. He acts like a dictator. This is why PTI has been a flop ever since they taken over.
 
Most of the recoveries are in Sindh.... I don't trust the Sindh government. A couple of weeks back they randomly did 300 tests in a village and about 280 came positive. Then the same tests were reconducted in Karachi and they all came negative.

Could be that the people who previously were false declared as positive are now being declared as negative, or maybe even more horrifying prospect is that they are being declared negative when they really aren't.
 
Last 24 hours

Single biggest rise in coroanvirus cases in Pakistan: 2,636
Single biggest rise in deaths in Pakistan: 57
Single biggest rise in deaths in Punjab: 29
Single biggest rise in recoveries from coronavirus: 2,074
 
MRSN said:
That was evident from start not just now. Everyone knew IK was as careless about severity of the diseas as Brazilian president. IK repeatedly claim our people are not falling like flies like in Italy or America and he calimed the hot weather is reason why corona won't be affective in Pakistan. IK doesn't really listens to his advisers. He acts like a dictator. This is why PTI has been a flop ever since they taken over.
Click to expand...
He constituted a whole NCOC in response to the the pandemic that meets on a daily basis headed by his right hand man Asad Umar and it has representation of all provinces, infectious disease experts and data scientist. Just because you are a Maryam Nawaz supporter doesn't mean we will let you spew your nonsense here.
 
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Syed1 said:
While you guys are looking at the alarming rise in deaths and new cases also take a look at the alarming rise in recoveries. Over 2000 people recovered in a day, for the first time. If this trend continues then we will keep the active cases curve at a flat-ish trajectory. Do keep in mind no government can bring the new cases down to zero. Heck there might be only a handful of diseases in the world that have daily new cases at zero.
Click to expand...

To me best strategy right now would be to re-impose very strict lockdown for few days(say 10 days) so that the spread decreases a bit and then ensure that SOPs are followed, this has to be ensured by the government at every level, starting it with their pressers. You see that in pressers, which happen after every few hours, there's no social distancing, no masks and that doesn't send a good mssg out.

Recoveries are expected to increase as cases are also increasing rapidly.
 
TrentDevil said:
To me best strategy right now would be to re-impose very strict lockdown for few days(say 10 days) so that the spread decreases a bit and then ensure that SOPs are followed, this has to be ensured by the government at every level, starting it with their pressers. You see that in pressers, which happen after every few hours, there's no social distancing, no masks and that doesn't send a good mssg out.

Recoveries are expected to increase as cases are also increasing rapidly.
Click to expand...

10 days of "strict lockdown" is very easy for you to say. I am certain you have a steady stream of income either through your businesses, family income or work from home corporate job. You can afford a "strict lockdown".


Well news flash, 60-70% of Pakistan is not as lucky as you. Majority of Pakistan's work force is daily wage earners or small business owners. If they earn today they will have food today. Otherwise they go to bed hungry. This is the class of people Imran Khan is looking out for, and this is why we see the elite, burger, woke class getting their panties in a twist.
 
Countries with huge population like pakistan or India, the absolute number of positive cases are not the real indicator. So it should not be the matrix of comparison.


How many tests are being done per day?

What is the percentage of people reported positive per day?

Whats the death rate?

Whats the recovery rate?

Whats the doubling time?

These are more important.

Can anyone tell me the figures gor pakistan?
 
SAPM Mirza says number of cases rising but situation 'under control'
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that the pandemic is spreading throughout Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said that the highest number of cases and deaths were reported during the last 24 hours and the highest number of people (157) were also put on ventilators.

He said the government fears the number of cases and deaths will continue to increase. "The situation is under control. About 18-20 per cent of ventilators are being used currently ... the situation is a bit serious at big hospitals in cities."

He added that the National Command and Operation Centre was monitoring the number of beds and ventilators in hospitals across the country and there were "enough" of them at the moment.
 
cricketjoshila said:
Countries with huge population like pakistan or India, the absolute number of positive cases are not the real indicator. So it should not be the matrix of comparison.


How many tests are being done per day?

What is the percentage of people reported positive per day?

Whats the death rate?

Whats the recovery rate?

Whats the doubling time?

These are more important.

Can anyone tell me the figures gor pakistan?
Click to expand...

Most data available here


http://covid.gov.pk/
 
Things are getting out of control. Khyber teaching Hospitals has no more space for new patients.
 
MenInG said:
SAPM Mirza says number of cases rising but situation 'under control'
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that the pandemic is spreading throughout Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said that the highest number of cases and deaths were reported during the last 24 hours and the highest number of people (157) were also put on ventilators.

He said the government fears the number of cases and deaths will continue to increase. "The situation is under control. About 18-20 per cent of ventilators are being used currently ... the situation is a bit serious at big hospitals in cities."

He added that the National Command and Operation Centre was monitoring the number of beds and ventilators in hospitals across the country and there were "enough" of them at the moment.
Click to expand...
The situation have never been under control. We have withdrawn all elective services. Hospitals are full, mortality rate on the rise. What else you need to call it a collapse??
 
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