Coronavirus patient dies at DHQ hospital Chitral

PESHAWAR: An early coronavirus patient has died at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Chitral, said the KP government on Monday.

The deceased belonged to Garam Chashma and had returned from outside the district. However, the identification of the coronavirus patient was not disclosed.

It said total 459 new cases were confirmed within the last 24 hours in the province, taking the tally to 18,472.

Moreover, highest daily death toll – 32 – was also reported in the province.

They included 10 in Swat, six in Peshawar, three in Kohat, three in Abbottabad, two in Mardan, two in Dir Upper, one each in Khyber, Swabi, Malakand, Chitral Lower, Hangu, DI Khan.

With these deaths, the total casualties from the virus in the province increased to 707.

 Meanwhile, the KP government has directed the district administrations to take necessary measures to implement SOPs and close down premises where SOPs were not being implemented.

The first case of COVID-19 emerged in Lower Chitral on April 19 and in Upper Chitral two days later. Most of the over 80 patients reported in both the districts have recovered and this is the second death from the virus inside Chitral.

Earlier, a man from Chitral town died of the virus on May 31.  In Karachi, two retired bank officers, one from Drosh and the other from Brep in Upper Chitral also died from the disease.