Pakistan's coronavirus count jumps to 972 as provinces report new cases

ISLAMABAD: The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has surged to 972 after new cases were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Out of the total novel coronavirus cases, 407 were reported so far in Sindh, 281 in Punjab, 110 in Balochistan, 80 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 78 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whereas, 15 people were diagnosed with the deadly virus in federal capital Islamabad and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) health authorities reported the emergence of 40 new cases, taking the total count in the province to 78.

Daily Situation Report of Corona Virus (COVID-19) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, dated 24 March, 2020.#KPFightsCorona #KPKUpdates pic.twitter.com/LG4XAyhEBL

— KP CoronaVirus Updates (@KPCoronaUpdates) March 24, 2020

Thirteen new cases of novel coronavirus emerged in Sindh, taking the provincial tally of COVID-19 cases to 407.

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The Sindh Health Department said eight new cases were detected in Karachi and five in Sukkur. There are a total of 141 coronavirus cases in the port city, of which 90 are of local transmission. A total of 265 cases have been detected in pilgrims quarantined in Sukkur on return from Iran via Taftan border, while one coronavirus positive patient emerged in Dadu.

A total of 18 patients have recovered while seven died from the COVID-19.

Provincial health authorities have reported overall 80 new cases so far till Tuesday night.

The global tally of coronavirus cases reached to 413,896 around the world and 18,540 people lost their lives so far. 108,293 patients have recovered their health in virus-hit countries.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, in a Tweet, said that there were 249 cases in Punjab that included176 in DG Khan, Lahore 51, Gujrat 5, Gujranwala 6, Jhelum 3, Rawalpindi 2, Multan 2, Faisalabad 1, MandBD 1, RYK 1 and 1 case in Sargodha.

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The Ministry of Interior on Monday authorised the deployment of the Pakistan Army troops in all four provinces, the Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to help tackle COVID-19.

Sindh, Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have declared a complete lockdown while the rest of the provinces and the capital city imposed a near lockdown to contain further spread of the coronavirus.

They had written to the Ministry of Interior seeking deployment of the armed forces.

“The Competent Authority in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Section 131A of CrPC 1898, is pleased to authorize deployment of sufficient strength of troops of Pakistan Army in ICT depending upon the requirement to be worked out by the ICT Administration in liaison with the Army authorities in connection with the prevailing situation related to the spread of COVID-19 and matters ancillary thereto, subject to laws enforced in Pakistan,” read one of the notifications.

The ministry issued separate notifications authorising the deployment of the armed forces.