Nationwide tally of confirmed cases crosses 3,500; global coronavirus deaths surge past 68,000
KARACHI / LAHORE / ISLAMABAD / PESHAWAR / QUETTA: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 3,755 on Monday after new infections were confirmed in the country.
The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 11:20pm, April 6, is as follows:
• Sindh: 932
• Punjab: 1,918
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 405
• Balochistan: 192
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 82
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 211
• AJK: 15
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 16
• Sindh: 17
• Balochistan: 1
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 3
• Punjab: 15
The worldwide number of officially confirmed fatalities from the novel coronavirus now stands at above 68,000, according to a Reuters tally.
More than 1 million declared cases have been registered in 200 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 250,000 are now considered recovered.
Read on for the latest updates from Pakistan and around the world.
Disclaimer: There may be some discrepancy in the number of confirmed cases reported at the country level due to differences in figures quoted by federal and provincial authorities.
Geo News is constantly gathering fresh information from concerned authorities and striving to keep our readers up to date with the most accurate information available.
Orange: All general updates coming in from Pakistan
Red: All reports on new cases in Pakistan
Maroon: All reports on new deaths in Pakistan
UAE reported 277 new cases of coronavirus, taking the total to 2,076 cases, according to Dr Farida Al Hosani, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap).
Dr Al Hosani said with 23 new recoveries, the total number of recoveries stood at 167, while an Asian patient was declared dead, taking the total number of deaths to 11, she said during a media briefing.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said that Punjab had 1,918 confirmed cases of the coronavirus so far.
Britain is confident of developing antibody tests for immunity to the coronavirus and health officials are not discouraged by the ineffectiveness of early tests that have been assessed, England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Whitty said that antibody tests - which would detect whether people had previously been infected with COVID-19 and therefore had immunity to the disease - would be more useful when more of the population had developed antibodies later in the epidemic.
“You’ve got to remember this is a new disease ... inevitably we’re feeling our way to some extent. I am very confident we will develop antibody tests, whether they be lab-based or dipstick based over the next period, I am very confident of that,” he said at a news conference
“The fact that we have not, in our first pass, in the first things that people produced, got ones which are highly effective is not particularly surprising to anybody who understands how tests are developed.”
Kuwait placed a full lockdown on two areas and extended its partial curfew by two hours to run from 5 pm (1400 GMT) till 6 am effective Monday until further notice, a statement from the cabinet said, Reuters reported.
It also extended a previously enacted suspension of work for all ministries and government institutions by two weeks until April 26 as precautionary measure against coronavirus.
British Open tournament has been cancelled for the first time ever since World War II, owing to the coronavirus epidemic.
The event was scheduled to be held for the 149th time in July this year at the Royal St George Golf Club in Kent.
"The Open was due to be played in Kent from 12-19 July but it has been necessary to cancel the championship based on guidance from the UK Government, the health authorities, public services and the R&A''s advisers," organisers R&A said in a statement on Monday.
St Andrews will still host the 150th British Open, but a year later than scheduled in 2022. "Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in the Open.
Special Advisor to Prime Ministeron Youth Affairs, Usman Dar, took to Twitter to reveal that the number of registered members of the Corona Relief Tigers Force had crossed 739,000.
The Giglit-Baltistan health department has reported one more case, taking the tally of infected to 211.
So far there have been three deaths in the region and 15 recoveries.
There are currently 193 patients being treated for the virus.
The primary and secondary healthcare department of Punjab has confirmed the total number of cases in the province stand at 1,816, a significant jump from the previous 1,684.
Of these, 577 are pilgrims from Iran, 527 are of the Tableeghi Jamaat and 633 are other citizens.
Among cities, the largest number of cases are in Lahore which has 291.
Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani has said that Rs1,080 million have been released by the government so that families affected by the lockdown can be provided essential food supplies.
A sum of Rs600 million has also been disbursed to those deserving of Zakat.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the police action against the doctors. He said that it was disappointing how the state was throwing doctors in jail for demanding safety kits to battle the coronavirus.
Officials in Germany are considering making it compulsory for all to wear face masks, as the officials hope to bring life back to normal after the pandemic affected thousands in the country.
Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan tweeted that he met members of the Young Doctors Association and assured them that their employment issues will be resolved.
"I personally gave a sitting and met YDA doctors...and assured we shall solve their contract employees issue, new posts advertized and rest..and assured we are serious in solving rest matters.
"But, its inappropriate to lock MS offices and put locks on them," he tweeted.
The chief minister took to Twitter to inform people about the Balochistan cabinet approving tax and fee exemptions amounting to Rs1.5bn.
Thailand has extended a ban on all passenger flights from landing in the country in a bid to stop the coronavirus from spreading further in the country.
Romania’s government will extend its state of emergency by another 30 days after the current period ending next week, to help halt the spread of the new coronavirus, President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday.
“We need to do this again. It’s a necessity. People should understand that without this measure, the virus cannot be stopped,” Iohannis told a video briefing.
Romania has so far recorded 4,057 confirmed cases of infection and 157 deaths.
Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has said that the lockdown is still in place and cars being seen on the roads because of the essential services opened in the province.
Sindh Minister for Education Saeed Ghani announced that the ration distribution by the Sindh government has been going on since the last two days. The minister said that the committees have also been formulated for the distribution of ration throughout the city.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday offered the country’s help to the heads of Spain and Italy's government amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Expressing grief over the thousands who had lost their lives to the virus, Sanjarni said, they would work together to defeat the virus.
The speaker also wrote letters to the Senate Speaker of Belarus, Poland and Brunei.
“Coronavirus is a global challenge that is affecting everyone. The entire world needs to work together to overcome this challenge,” he wrote.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday expressed concerns over the government’s plan to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as more cases were reported in the country.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed questioned the state's preparedness in dealing with the crisis while hearing the petition pertaining to the release of under-trail prisoners amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
During the hearing today, the top judge questioned the government’s action plan regarding the spread of the virus and Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza’s qualification.
“What sort of an emergency has been imposed in the country where all the hospitals in the country have been closed?” Justice Gulzar remarked. “Private clinics in the country have also been closed.”
“No one knows what is happening on the ground,” he added. “Is this how we will deal with this pandemic? The Centre has nothing and they are doing nothing as well.”
Read more here.
The Swiss death toll from the novel coronavirus has risen to 584, the country’s public health agency said on Monday, from 559 people on Sunday.
The number of positive tests also increased to 21,652 from 21,100 on Sunday, it said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police announced that SP Waqar Kharal has resumed his duties after recovering from the coronavirus.
According to the police, Kharal was performing his duties in UC Manga and his test came out negative after spending 14 days in isolation.
A special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on Monday brought back 128 stranded Pakistanis in Uzbekistan.
According to a press release issued by the embassy, as a humanitarian gesture, the same flight also brought back 22 Uzbek nationals from Pakistan.
These stranded Pakistani nationals included tourists who were in Uzbekistan on a short-term visa and could not return to Pakistan due to suspension of international flights following COVID-19 outbreak.
The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 3,739, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV on Monday.
The total number of people infected by coranavirus in the country has reached 60,500, he said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday called the Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Vladimir Norov and urged for an effective strategy to face the global challenge of the coronavirus outbreak, reported Radio Pakistan.
Qureshi also appraised the SCO secretary general about steps taken by Pakistan to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He emphasised on evolving a common approach from the SCO platform to stop the spread of the virus.
The pace of Spain’s coronavirus deaths slowed again on Monday as 637 patients died overnight, taking the total to 13,055, the government said.
Though Spain has the second-highest death toll in the world after Italy, the number of deaths each day has been falling since Thursday’s peak of 950, according to health ministry figures.
Monday’s data showed total cases up to 135,032 from 130,759 the previous day.
Malaysia on Monday reported 131 new coronavirus infections, raising the country’s total to 3,793 cases, the highest in Southeast Asia.
The Health Ministry has recorded 62 deaths, including one more reported as of noon Monday.
Former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Monday said the coronavirus epidemic has become a serious challenge for world’s superpowers.
“Coronavirus has challenged the world’s superpowers, establishing the fact that ultimate power belongs to God Almighty”, said Hussain.
“The corridors of power should now invest on upgrading their health facilities, rather than investing on missiles and weapons, as the coronavirus pandemic has unveiled the truth – arms and ammunition can never battle out health hazards,” he added.
PIA suspended three flights to northern areas on Monday, a flight inquiry said.
“Flights from Islamabad to Gilgit and Islamabad to Skardu have been cancelled,” the flight inquiry said, adding that another flying to Gilgit from Islamabad left after a five-hour delay.
Sindh on Monday reported 51 new cases of the virus, taking the provincial tally to 932.
According to Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab, the province has also recorded two more deaths, taking the provincial total to 17.
“In the last 24 hours, 130 people have recovered from coronavirus in Sindh,” he added.
The number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 2,520.
Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar has said that the government will set up field hospitals across the province by today evening.
The CM made the announcement while speaking to the media during his visit to PCR Lab in Lahore. The CM said that in the coming two weeks, the coronavirus testing facility would be further expanded to increase the provincial testing capacity.
Another patient tested positive of the virus recovered in Balochistan after completing his isolation period in Quetta'sSheikh Zayed Hospital, tweeted the health department of the province.
This takes the Balochistan's tally of recovered patients to 61
Indonesia on Monday confirmed 218 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily jump since the first cases were announced a month ago, taking the total number of infections to 2,491, a Health Ministry official said.
Achmad Yurianto, the official, said that 11 deaths had been recorded, taking the total to 209, while 192 people had recovered.
Young Doctors Association has announced a boycott of all services after their colleagues were arrested by the government for protesting against the lack of medical equipment being provided to them.
The boycott’s announcement was made by President of the Young Doctors Association Dr Yasir Khan.
The Philippines’ Health Ministry on Monday reported 11 additional deaths and 414 new infections from of the coronavirus outbreak.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths in the Philippines had reached 163 and cases rose to 3,660, while 73 patients had recovered.
Police in Quetta has arrested more than 30 doctors and medical staff protesting against a lack of protective equipment being provided to them.
The young doctors and paramedical staff were arrested after they refused to end their sit-in in the city’s security zone.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar has said that the consumption of gas and electricity has decreased due to the coronavirus.
The SAPM said that the demand for gas, including LNG, has been decreased by closely 1 billion cubic feet per day, coming to 3 billion cubic feet per day.
Babar stated that right now 10,000 megawatts of electricity is being consumed in the country. He added that usually up to 14,000 megawatts of electricity is consumed daily. He added that the demand for petrol and diesel has also decreased by 50%.
Germany's confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 3,677 in the past 24 hours to 95,391 on Monday, the fourth straight drop in the daily rate of new cases, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.
The number of new cases was lower than the 5,936 new infections reported on Sunday.
The reported death toll rose by 92 to 1,434.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Air Force announced that a C-130 aircraft carrying 11,000 pounds of medical equipment and relief goods for Balochistan landed at the PAF Base Samungli in Quetta on Monday.
According to the spokesperson the the plane took off from PAF Base Nur Khan early in the morning for the relief mission.
"The aircraft airlifted approximately 11000 pounds of medical equipment including N95 masks, protective gear, gloves, face masks, testing kits and medicines in the sortie," said the spokesperson.
Nationwide tally of confirmed cases rose to 3,469 after 191 new cases were reported in Punjab.
The spokesperson of Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare said that Punjab has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, adding that the provincial tally now stands at 1,684 cases.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal on Monday told the MPs that the country currently has 3,800 ventilators and the number would increase on April 5 after the country will receive 500 new ventilators.
The NDMA chairman, told the parliamentary committee, that 2,000 more ventilators will be imported from China. He added that the provinces have been given 29,000 protective kits to distribute among the doctors.
The meeting of the parliamentary committee on coronavirus was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and includes MNAs from all
political parties.
Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar announced that his government has decided that it will cut the school fees across the province by 20% during the ongoing holidays.
The CM, in a tweet, said that the schools have also been instructed to collect the fees a monthly basis. He added that the schools have also been directed to pay the salary of all its staff and teachers on time, and have been barred from firing them.
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has allowed home users to pay their bills for March in three instalments, confirmed a spokesperson of the organisation. He added that last month's bill can be paid to any bank in instalments.
The spokesperson added that the banks have also been directed to receive the bills in three instalments. He added that the concession has been given to those who have a bill of less than Rs 2,000.
A report issues by the KP Health Department on Monday revealed that 72% of the patients diagnosed with the coronavirus in Peshawar were males, while 28% of them were females.
The report also showed that 56% of the patients were in the age of 24-40.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "doing well" and is expected to be back at his office shortly, housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Monday after the British leader was admitted to hospital on Sunday night.
"He'll stay in hospital as long as he needs to do that, but I've heard that he's doing well and I very much look forward to him being back in Number 10 as soon as possible," Jenrick told BBC radio.
"This isn't an emergency admission and so I certainly expect that he'll be back at Number 10 shortly," he added, referring to Johnson's Downing Street offices and residence.
Chief Secretary Balochistan Faisal Asghar on Monday briefed the provincial cabinet regarding the steps being taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The ministers were also given an update regarding the distribution of rations among the needy.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday opened 29 areas in UC Manga after it was placed in quarantine for 19 days following the country’s first reported death in the area.
The additional deputy commissioner announced that they have opened the areas near the UC after disinfecting the locality. He added that the nearby villages are yet to report a positive case, adding that Manga’s situation was improving.
Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar will inaugurate a lab with the status of biosafety level 3 today, announced Azhar Mashwani, the CM’s focal person on digital media. The official added that the lab will have the capacity to conduct 2,000 tests per day.
Former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rehman has urged that there is a need to increase the testing capacity of the country.
“We should be doing 50,000 to 40,000 tests daily,” said Dr Rehman. He added that those affected by the virus are less in the country which is why the numbers of the positive cases were less.
Total confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world jumped to more than 1,250,000, with deaths rising to over 68,400, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 200 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
The Punjab government on Monday announced it was extending the existing restrictions in the province till April 14.
“Public is requested to follow the guidelines issued by the government and ensure that they don't leave home unless necessary,” the government spokesperson said.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Sania Nishtar has said citizens can become a part of the Ehsaas programme by sending their CNIC number to 8171 and check their eligibility.
According to the SAPM, so far more than 30 million have sent messages.
The Japanese government is considering a period of six months for the state of emergency that it is preparing to call in response to the coronavirus pandemic, broadcaster TBS reported on Monday.
The move would cover Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures as well as Osaka, TBS said, citing unidentified sources.
The government is preparing to announce a state of emergency as early as Tuesday, the broadcaster said.
The Parliamentary Committee on Coronavirus Monitoring will hold its first meeting today.
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar heads the 25-member bipartisan committee of the lawmakers comprising members from both the Houses of the Parliament.
In today’s meeting Adviser to PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Adviser on Commerce and Industry Abdul Razak Dawood will brief the legislators on the impact of the pandemic on the country’s economy and the measures to be taken for its revival.
Read more here.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was still in hospital on Monday after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus, though Downing Street said he remained in charge of the government.
"The PM is still at the hospital," a British government source said. "He spent the night in the hospital."
Outpatient Departments (OPDs) of government hospitals were closed on Monday amid the coronavirus lockdown in the provincial capital.
However, accident and emergency departments at the health facilities are providing services to the patients.
Thailand reported 51 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Monday, according to a spokesman for the government's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
Thirteen of the new cases were medical personnel who attended to infected patients or had activities with them, said the spokesman.
Thailand has confirmed 2,220 cases and 26 fatalities since the outbreak emerged in the country in January.
A Chinese medical team will arrive in Karachi today to examine the situation in the metropolis, Chinese Consul General to Karachi said.
“The expert medical team from China will arrive in Karachi this afternoon to examine the situation and share experience of how to fight the pandemic with the officials, experts, doctors in Sindh province,” he tweeted.
South Korea reported fewer than 50 new coronavirus cases for the first time since its peak at the end of February as daily infections in Asia's largest outbreak outside China continued to trend downward.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Monday there were 47 new infections as of midnight on Sunday compared with 81 recorded a day earlier, taking the national cumulative tally to 10,284.
Pakistan will open its Torkham and Chaman border crossings for four days from today to allow Afghan nationals in Pakistan to return home.
“At the special request of the government of Afghanistan and based on humanitarian considerations, Pakistan has decided to allow the exit of Afghan nationals in Pakistan wishing to go back to their country,” the FO said in a statement on Saturday.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal on Monday said 31 more people had recovered from the virus in the province.
The total number of recovered patients in Balochistan now stands at 60.
Pakistan on Monday recorded three more deaths from the virus, the national dashboard said.
According to the national dashboard, the deaths were reported in Punjab.
Pakistan on Monday reported 117 new cases of coronavirus to take the nationwide tally to 3,278.
According to the national dashboard, 113 new cases were reported in Punjab and four new cases in Islamabad.
Bakeries in various areas in Karachi remained open on Monday in violation of lockdown orders to remain shut till April 14.
Shops in Hussianabad, Aisha Manzil, Gulistan-e-Johar and other areas were serving the customers against the government’s directives.
The nationwide tally of confirmed cases rose to 3,161 after Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s health minister confirmed that the region had recorded one more new case of the infection.
The minister said that the region’s tally now stands at 15 and that affected people had been shifted to a quarantine centre.
Indian Railways on Sunday suspended train operations across the country until April 14 and has decided to convert old train carriages into isolation wards for patients.
More than 1.21 million people have been reported infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 65,810 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 200 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
The US is entering what a senior official warned on Sunday would be the "hardest" week of the coronavirus crisis as the death toll mounted, but some saw glimmers of hope from a slight slowing of fatalities in hard-hit New York.
New York, the epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak has reported nearly 600 new fatalities and more than 7,300 cases in the state, according to Reuters.
Louisiana has become a hot spot for the virus, reporting a jump in deaths to nearly 500 and more than 13,000 cases. The governor predicted the state would run out of ventilators by Thursday.
Places such as Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington, DC, are also starting to see rising deaths.
Nationally, cases the respiratory disease topped 336,000, while the death toll stood at 9,573, according to a Reuters tally.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
Johnson, who was isolating in Downing Street after testing positive last month, still had a high temperature and so his doctors felt he should go to an undisclosed hospital for tests in what the government said was a "precautionary step".
"On the advice of his doctor, the prime minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests," his Downing Street office said in a statement. Johnson is expected to stay overnight.
Read more here.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that 194 Pakistanis stranded in Turkey were successfully repatriated with the efforts of the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General of Pakistan in Istanbul.
"These stranded Pakistani nationals included tourists who came to Turkey on short-term visa & couldn’t return owing to flight disruptions, as well as those 22 Pakistani nationals who were stuck in transit lounge of Turkish airports when Pakistan’s airspace closed on the evening of 21.3.2020," read a statement on Facebook.
For our March April 5 coronavirus coverage click here.
For our March April 4 coronavirus coverage click here.