KARACHI: Sindh, with overall COVID-19 infection rate of 19% on July 6, registered 46 more related fatalities, while the number of infections rose to 96,236. The province, according to data released by the Sindh health department, reported 1,708 new infections. The daily infection rate came as 13.68%, which was 20.75% on July 5, against 14.78% of July 4, 14.85 of July 3.

Keen observers said that Sindh needed a stable daily infection rate, in addition to reducing its daily death rate.

The province reported an average of 33 deaths daily during a period of June 30 to July 6 which, according to the experts, passed the impression that public and private hospitals were unable to manage the infected cases presented to them.

As per the provincial data, updated on July 6, 15 patients in the age group of 0-9 years, 9 in 10-19, 27 in 20-29, 70 in 30-39, 184 in 40-49, 398 in 50-59, 436 in 60-69 and 440 of age 70 and plus have lost their lives at hospitals and homes due to COVID-19 so far in Sindh.

According to a report generated by an international health agency, Sindh’s 48% of the fatalities occurred in government health facilities, 28% at private hospitals and 20% at homes across the province, during a period from March 10 to July 4.

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his daily statement on COVID-19 status, said that 40,809 patients were at present receiving treatment against the lethal virus across the province, including 38,875 at homes, 1,607 in hospitals and 327 at various isolation centres while the condition of 623 patients was critical.

The Sindh health department reports revealed that 39 patients, including 32 men and seven women, lost their lives in Karachi. The deceased men were aged from 30 to 79 years while the women were in the age brackets of 47 to 83. There was no mention of hospitals or homes where they died, however.

In addition, Ghotki, Khairpur, Hyderabad, Thatta and Umerkot registered a death each during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on July 6. The deceased persons, all men, were aged from 50 to 76 years. The overall death tally rose to 1,572 on July 6 for the province.

As many as 1,038 new people were tested positive for coronavirus at Karachi on July 6, followed by Hyderabad (191), Sukkur (107), Shaheed Benazirabad (48), Sanghar (42), Naushero Feroze (35), Tando Allahyar (34), Khairpur (30), Mirpurkhas (25), Larkana (22), Kambar Shahdadkot (21), Jamshoro (21), Sujawal (19), Matiari (16), Shikarpur (15), Tando Mohammad Khan (21), Ghotki (8), Thatta (6), Dadu (3), Kashmore (3) and Jacobabad (2)–PNFS