Punjab records 630 new coronavirus cases, death toll at 273

LAHORE: At least 630 new coronavirus cases have emerged in Punjab during the last 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 15,976, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

A spokesperson of the Punjab health department said that of the fresh cases, 153 tested positive in Lahore. 13 more people died from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the COVID-19 death toll in the province to 273.

He maintained that Punjab has conducted over 174,305 COVID-19 tests thus far.

Earlier in the day, Young Doctors Association (YDA) lamented that the Punjab government has not provided personal protective equipment and masks to healthcare professionals in the province.

Talking to media outside the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), members of the association said the hospital is not safe for coronavirus patients as the SOPs are not followed.

They regretted that test results that ought to be provided in 12 hours are released in 14 days, adding 48 staffers at the PIC have contracted the deadly virus because of a lack of protective gear for healthcare workers.

“The Punjab government has not provided any facility to healthcare professionals,” the YDA members claimed, adding they have not been provided even masks as doctors discharging duty in the emergency ward of the hospital have just seven kits and 10 masks.