Coronavirus cases in Pakistan rise to over 1,400 as Punjab emerges as new epicentre
Positive cases of coronavirus reached 1,408 on Saturday, which also included the 11 fatalities in the country. With the continuous rise in the COVID-19 positive cases in the country, Punjab province has now emerged as the new epicentre of the deadly viral infection. Seven of the total infected are in a critical condition, the Health Ministry said. Most of the infected people had returned from Iran, where the confirmed cases are over 30,000 with more than 2,300 deaths. Punjab recorded a total of 490 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, up from 419 cases on Friday.
The number surpassed Sindh's tally of 457 cases. Sindh was the province, which reported Pakistan's first coronavirus case.
Of the 490 cases in Punjab, the highest number of 207 were reported from Dera Ghazi Khan district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 180 cases, Balochistan registered 133, Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 107 cases, while it was 39 in Islamabad and 2 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the ministry said.
Twenty-five people have recovered so far, it said.
Punjab chief minister Buzdar tweeted that a 22-year-old COVID-19 patient died in Faisalabad, taking the total number of deaths due to the disease in the province to five.
Meanwhile, Health Advisor Zafar Mirza said a team of eight Chinese doctors will arrive in Pakistan to review the steps taken by the government to combat coronavirus outbreak.
They will share their experience with local doctors.
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