COVID-19 cases in Pakistan surge past 67,000; Federal Minister tests positive

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan have surged to 67,704 while the fatalities related to the deadly virus stand at 1,433.

According to latest figures available on Dawn, Sindh has reported 27,360 COVID-19 cases so far, Punjab has reported 24,104 while Balochistan has reported 4,087 cases.

Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) and Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi announced on Twitter that he has tested positive for coronavirus, reported Dawn.

"I have tested positive of Covid-19 & have isolated myself at home as per advice by medics," he wrote on Twitter. "I need prayers & blessings. May Allah almighty help save all my countrymen from the pandemic under my PM."

Besides this, a spokesperson for the Sindh government said private hospitals in the province can now set up isolation wards to treat the COVID-19 patients.

Meanwhile, violence erupted at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) on Friday night. According to a report in Dawn which cited officials, dozens of people vandalised the facility and attacked doctors, allegedly because the medical staff "delayed handing over the body" of a Covid-19 patient.

According to Police, the patient who was brought to hospital at 2:15 AM on Friday died while being treated. The doctors suspected the patient to have the coronavirus and conducted a test, which came back positive but his relatives refuted the result.

According to latest data from Johns Hopkins University, the number of coronavirus cases worldwide have surged to 5,945,737 while the global death toll stands at 365,368.

( With inputs from ANI )