199 Sindh Police officials contracted coronavirus in just 4 days

• 23 Sindh Police officials have died of COVID-19 so far
• 614 police personnel currently have coronavirus
• 4,609 police officials have recovered 

KARACHI: At least 199 officials of the Sindh Police have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in just four days, a spokesperson for the provincial police department said on Wednesday. 

The spokesperson added that a total of 5,246 police officials have contracted the novel coronavirus so far while 614 are currently undergoing treatment. The virus has claimed the lives of 23 police personnel while 4,609 have recovered. 

Read more: Pakistan crosses 11,000 COVID-19 deaths as two vaccines get approved for emergency use

Sindh is the hardest hit province with 237,308 infections recorded since the novel coronavirus was first detected in late February last year. Today, the active number of cases across the province stands at 18,377. 

Data issued by the provincial government shows 21,629 people have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus since the beginning of January 2021. In almost a year since the virus was first detected in the province, at least 3,830 people have died of it.

Since the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) green-lighted two anti-coronavirus vaccines for emergency use, the AstraZeneca-Oxford and the vaccine by China's Sinopharm, Sindh Health Department has sought Rs1.5 billion for procurement of the inoculations. 

Related: Sindh Health Dept recommends setting aside Rs1.5b for coronavirus vaccine procurement