Five FO officials test positive for COVID-19 in the past week

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui has confirmed that five COVID-19 cases emerged in the office within the past week.

In a statement on Sunday, Aisha Farooqui said all those who tested positive for coronavirus have been quarantined and relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been implemented to limit the spread of the virus.

Among the five cases were two officers and three staff members, the statement read. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to 98,943 in Pakistan today, while the death toll stands at 2,000.

Pakistan has reported its highest numbers of COVID-19 deaths and infections in a single day since the pandemic emerged in March, prompting health experts to call for a strict lockdown to contain it.

According to the Health Ministry, a record of 4,960 new cases, and 48 deaths from the disease have been reported in the country during the last 24 hours.

As per details, 21 percent of the cases have foreign travel history while 79 percent of the cases are reported to be locally transmitted.

There have been 37,090cases so far been detected in Punjab, 36,364in Sindh, 12,459in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6,221in Balochistan,  4,323 in Islamabad, 897 in Gilgit Baltistan and  331 in Azad Kashmir.

Out of a total of 1,998 deaths, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 561 deaths, Sindh 634, Balochistan 54, Gilgit-Baltistan 13, Punjab 683, Azad Kashmir 08 and Islamabad Capital Territory has reported 45 deaths.

Meanwhile, health officials in Pakistan believe the already stretched health system is unable to handle the lurking influx of coronavirus patients.

In the country’s two most populous cities of Karachi and Lahore, hospitals are already struggling because of a sharp rise in COVID-19 patients in recent weeks.

The health authorities continuously urged the citizens to follow SOPS and avoid going out of their home without any solid reason.