Premature to link all deaths in Karachi with coronavirus: Zafar Mirza

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Friday it will be premature to say that all deaths occurring in Karachi took place due to the novel coronavirus.

Speaking at a media briefing, he said it is wrong to speculate before lab tests are conducted to determine the exact cause of deaths. Wherever such deaths are reported, the deceased will be subjected to tests in future, he added.

Dr Zafar Mirza said the government would issue an advisory on “suspicious deaths” tomorrow.

The special assistant said the country’s testing capacity is increasing with the march of time as it would be able to conduct 20,000 tests in a day by the end of this month.

Over the past 24 hours, 6,264 tests were conducted across the country, out of which 497 were declared positive, he said, adding Pakistan’s Covid-19 count has reached 7,025 with 1,765 people recovering from the contagion so far.

60 per cent of the total cases in the country are locally transmitted, Dr Mirza said and added Pakistan’s Covid-19 death rate is 1.9 per cent as compared to 6.7 recorded the world over. He said 11 people died from the pandemic in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 135.

44 patients remain in critical condition in various hospitals, he said.

Premature to link all deaths in Karachi with coronavirus: PM aide