Karachi accounts for 87 of 104 new COVID-19 cases reported from Sindh

The Sindh province of Pakistan reported 104 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, of which 87 were reported from the provincial capital Karachi.

13 other cases have been reported from Hyderabad, three from Larkana and one from Sanghar. Three people died in Karachi from the virus in the past 24 hours.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was quoted as saying that the rise in the number of cases in the province was greater than the world average and hence a cause of concern.

Meanwhile, 11 Union Councils in District East Karachi are being sealed to contain the spread of the disease, according to a notification from the Deputy Commissioner's Office, Dawn reported.

These Councils include Manzoor Colony, Gillani Railways, Dalmia, Jamali Colony, Gulshan II, Pehalwan Goth, Gulzar-e-Hijri, Safoora, Faisal Cantt, Jacob Line and Jamshed Quarters.

Karachi has introduced sanitising walk-through gates to disinfect people.

But experts in Pakistan have called them "toxic traps" that provide a "false sense of security".

Dr Shireen Khan, head of tuberculosis and chest diseases department at the Fatimah Jinnah Hospital in Quetta, said these gates are superficial.

"People need to remember that the virus inside your body does not die once you walk through these gates. These [walk-through gates] do not provide complete safety against the virus and there is no recommendation from the WHO in this regard," said Dr Khan, who is looking after COVID-19 patients in Balochistan.