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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has released Rs. 7.21 billion, including Rs. 6.9 billion to health department and rest of the amount to commissioner Sukkur to contain and combat COVID-19 threat.

This he said on Thursday while presiding over 22nd meeting of Task Force on coronavirus here at CM House, said a spokesperson of the CM Sindh.

CM said “I'll make more funds available to contain, curb and combat the threat of coronavirus but this will be possible when we all will work together with spirit".

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Dr Azra Fazal pechuho, Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, IG Sindh Mushtaq Maher, PSCM Sajid jamal Abro, Dr Bari chief of Indus Hospital, Dr Faisal of Aga Khan, Brigadier Sami of Corps 5, provincial secretaries, Usman Chachar, Hassan Naqvi, Najam Shah, DG PDMA Salman Shah, representatives of Airport, Civil Aviation, FIA, WHO and MB Dharejo, the focal persona and others.

Sindh Minister Syed Nasir Shah, Awais Shah and Commissioner Sukkur Shafiq Mahesar joined the meeting from Sukkur through video link.

The chief minister told the meeting that he has released Rs. 6.9 billion to health department for purchase of medicines, equipments, generators, diet charges, sanitisers, kits and swabs.

He also said that he has released Rs. 16.7 million and another Rs. 15.1 million to commissioner Sukkur to for preparation of isolation Center at Labor Colony, purchase of equipments, hiring of vehicles, food charges and proper care of pilgrims arrived there from Taftan in two phases.

The chief minister was told that 757 new pilgrims from Taftan have reached.

The commissioner said that so far 180 samples of newly arrived pilgrims have been taken and sent to Karachi for test.

Another batch of 88 pilgrims Taftan have reached Larkana and have been kept in isloaltion Centre set up at Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto University, Airja campus, Larkana.

The chief minister directed health department to send them swabs and kits to test the pilgrims.

The chief minister was told that four new cases have been diagnosed in Karachi.

There are 66 patients in Karachi, including one in Hyderabad and 151 in Sukkur.

The locally transmitted cases have reached to 40. The tally of confirm corona virus cases has risen to 217 in the province.

It may be noted that health department has conducted 1018 tests of the suspects, of them 952 were declared as negative and 66 as positive.

The 302 pilgrims from Taftan/Sukkur were tested, of them 151 appeared to be negative and another 151 as positive.

The participants of the meeting were informed that out 66 cases, 64 under treatment and eight cases have the travel history of Syria, three have of Dubai, four Iran, 40 local transmission, one Qattar, six Saudi Arabia, one Turkey and two of Switzerland.

The health department told the chief minister that on his instruction the testing capacity has been increased.

Indus hospital has increased its capacity from 200 to 800, Ziauddin 50 tests, SIUT up to 100 per day, Ojha upto 100 per day, Aga Khan 200 tests. In this way the capacity has increased from 400 to 1250 tests per day.

However, he directed PPHI and government hospitals/DHQs to explore ways and means to start testing facility.

A 23-beded Isolation Center has been created at SIUT.

The meeting was told that the Sindh government hospitals reported 1874 suspects with Pneumonia symptoms, of them 43 were with severe symptoms and their samples have been for test.

The private hospitals reported 702 suspect cases, of them 33 samples have been taken for test.

The airport officials told the chief minister that 24 flights were scheduled today out of which 10 were cancelled and the reaming flights brought 3209 passengers to the city.

All the passengers were screened and one of them was found to be suspect and his sample was taken and result is pending. - APP