Punjab reports first death from COVID-19, nation-wide confirmed patients tally rises to 959

OBSERVER REPORT
LAHORE Punjab on Tuesday reported its first death from the coronavirus in the province as the number of confirmed patients rose to 959 nation wide. According to provincial Health Minister Yasmin Rashid, the patient was a 57- year-old admitted to Mayo Hospital. She repeated appeals for the public to stay indoors and avoid spreading the virus any further. Unfortunately, a Covid19 Patient Afrasiyab, aged 57, who was admitted to Mayo Hospital, lost his life Tuesday. These are indeed difficult times for the whole country. Only way we can fight this pandemic is by staying indoors and following the precautionary measures. The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country had risen to 959 earlier in the day after Punjab and Sindh reported new cases. The Punjab Health department tweeted that the number of confrimed cases in the province stood at 265 after 16 new cases were reported in the province. According to the breakdown, 176 of those are the pilgrims that returned from Iran. While, Lahore remains the worst-hit city in the province with 59 new cases. The department reported that Gujrat has 12 cases, 7 in Gujranwala, 3 in Jhelum and 2 in Rawalpindi and Multan respectively. Sargodha, Faisalabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Rahim Yar Khan have reported only one case in their cities. Sindh remains the worst affected province by the coronavirus in the country so far, with a total of 410 coronavirus cases. In Karachi alone, the number of cases of the virus are 130, with the majority said to be cases of “local transmission”. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department, the number of cases in the province stands at 78 after 40 new cases were reported Tuesday, while the number of reported cases in Gilgit-Baltistan is 80. Balochistan has reported 110 cases, while one case has been reported from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In Islamabad, 15 patients have been confirmed to have contracted the virus. The country has also reported six deaths from the virus, with Balochistan reporting its first death on Sunday. Balochistan government’s spokesperson, Liaquat Shahwani confirmed the province’s first death from the virus in a tweet.