KARACHI: Sindh’s COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) continued increasing on July 23 when the government confirmed yet 36 more deaths in the province during the last 24 hours, with 670 new infections, pushing the overall tally of deaths to 2,096 and infections to 115,883 for the province.

According to the data, Sindh’s CFR was 1.80% on July 23, against 1.61% of July 1. The rate was 1.64% on July 8, 1.73 on July 15 and 1.78 on July 22. As of July 22, against Pakistan’s overall CFR of 2.1%, KPK rate was 3.53%, followed by Punjab (2.30%), Sindh (1.78%) and Balochistan (1.18%) and other territories.

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his daily COVID-19 statement, shared that as many as 9,804 samples were tested during the last 24 hours ending July 23 morning, out of which 670 were detected positive. “In all 686,505 people have been tested for the lethal infection across the province, so far,” he added.

He further declared that 3,176 more patients recovered from the disease on July 23, while 14,385 were still receiving treatment either at hospitals or homes. Of the 685 patients at hospitals, 440 were critical condition; 70 were on-ventilators.

The details about the hospitalization of the deceased patients and their living districts could not be known as the Chief Minister’s office as well as the health department were silent on the subject.

According to the Chief Minister’s statement, Karachi reported the maximum of 305 cases, including 132 from the South district, which had a disease attack rate of 879.8 per 100,000 persons.

In addition to Karachi, Khairpur reported 34 new cases, and they were followed by Ghotki (27), Badin (27), Sanghar (22), Kambar Shahdadkot (20), Shaheed Benazirabad (19), Naushro Feeroze (19), Shikarpur (19), Hyderabad (17), Mirpurkhas (15), Dadu (15), Umerkot (12), Jacobabad (11), Sukkur (8). Tando Allahyar (8), Thatta (8), Tando Mohammad Khan (7), Jamshoro (7), Larkana (6), Kashmore (1) and Sujawal (1).

In the meantime, according to an official report on July 22, different COVID-19 testing laboratories across the province examined 10,108 samples, ie 68% of their collective maximum daily capacity.

As many as 1,435 samples were found positive for the virus, including 1,096 (76%) new cases.

The report further said that in all 845 prisoners were infected with the virus at the Karachi Centre Prison, out of which 795 recovered, while 50 were still receiving treatment.

As of July 22, a total 590 positive cases were admitted at the Karachi Expo Centre, out of which 578 recovered from the disease, one has died while 11 were still admitted, This was the only isolation centre having COVID-19 patients, while another 14 such centres in the province were having no case for treatment.

As many as 52 government and privately run hospitals across the province, as of July 22, had collectively admitted 5,223 patients, out of whom 2,955 got recovered from the coronavirus disease, 701 were receiving treatment, while 1,567 succumbed to the deadly virus.

The highest number of COVID-19 deaths (591), occurred either at hospitals or homes, were reported among the patients in the age group of 60-69 years.

A maximum of 217 patients out of 366 admissions died at JPMC, 213 out of 494 died at CHK, 205 out of 598 at DUHS Hospital, 164 out of 436 at Indus Hospital Karachi, 163 out of 501 at SIUT, 117 out of 569 at AKU Hospital, 91 out of 213 at Karachi Trauma Centre, 81 out of 198 at Ziauddin Hospital Clifton, 62 out of 145 at Lyari General Hospital, 53 out of 198 at Ziauddin Hospital North Nazimabad, among others.

The Aga Khan University Hospital, PNS Shifa and NICH Karachi had no ICU beds empty for any new patient on July 22, while the newly established Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre, Social Security Kidney Centre Landhi, Fauji Hospital, Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital, Social Security Hospital Landhi were having no patients in their COVID-19 ICU units.

According to a mortality analysis, 12 off-ventilator deaths took place in the country on July 21, including three in Sindh — two died at home, while one died due to sudden cardiac pulmonary arrest. In the meantime, infections among the healthcare workers also continued in Sindh.

As of July 21, overall, as many as 1,480 doctors, 160 nurses and 285 paramedics and other staffs contracted the disease while performing duties in critical care units or elsewhere. As many as 1,742 of them have recovered while 29 healthcare professionals have perished–PNFS