Sindh Authorities to issue advisory on public gatherings after Covid-19 tally reaches 13

Authorities in the Sindh province of Pakistan are likely to issue an advisory on large public gatherings after nine more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Karachi.

The cases reported on Monday are the highest since the outbreak was first reported in the country last month. Pakistan so far has confirmed 13 cases in Sindh province and 16 in the country, reported Dawn.

Sindh Minister of Health and Population Welfare Azra Fazal Pechuho announced various measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Sindh Health Department will set up its own health desk and screening areas at the Karachi Airport to screen all passengers.

Moreover, all private and public hospitals will set up an information desk for coronavirus.

An advisory will be issued to avoid large public gatherings; it has also been suggested to ban large gatherings such as the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Dawn reported that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will follow Sindh government's directives.

"We will follow the Sindh government's directives. However, for now, the matches are still scheduled for Karachi," Dawn quoted a PCB spokesperson as saying.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Zafar Mirza, said that the nine new coronavirus patients are in "stable clinical conditions".

"All new nine cases came in contact with a previously infected person and had a travel history, further contacts are being traced and tested," Mirza tweeted.

A day earlier, the provincial authorities said the department was in process of tracking down all who came in contact with the patients.

"The Sindh health department has nine new cases of coronavirus in Karachi. Six patients came from Syria via Doha whereas the other three patients came from London via Dubai during the past week," the department said in an issued statement.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the novel coronavirus belongs to the family of zoonotic viruses that spread from animals to humans.

The symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus include running cold, sneezes, and coughs while in severe cases respiratory problems, shortness of breath, kidney failure or even death.

The deadly virus which originated in Wuhan, China has affected more than 105 counties and has infected 110,137 people globally with nearly 4,000 deaths.