Coronavirus claims 12 more lives in KP.

Byline: Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR -- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday recorded 12 deaths from novel coronavirus taking its overall tally to 221 amid the government's announcement of the establishment of a 300 beds emergency hospital in the capital city to effectively manage and treat Covid-19 patients.

The province also recorded the highest number of confirmed virus cases in a single day, 371.

Among them was special secretary of the local government department Mutasim Billah, who visited several regions of KP, including Malakand division and southern districts, in recent days to supervise anti-coronavirus activities.

According to the health department's report, the case fatality rate (CFR) in the country was 2.27 per cent.

300 beds emergency hospital planned in Peshawar

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's CFR was 5.1 per cent, the highest among provinces.

The report said Peshawar had 7.76 per cent CFR, the highest in any city of the country.

It added that Peshawar accounted for most of the new Covid-19 casualties as five deaths took its tally of the fatalities to 134.

Swat also recorded five new deaths from the virus that took its overall count of fatalities to 19.

A man died of Covid-19 in Swabi that recorded five such deaths, while the virus claimed one life in Lower Dir, where death toll reached five.

Also, the provincial capital continued to be the epicentre of new confirmed coronavirus patients as it recorded 141 such cases, which took its overall count to 1727, the highest in any district of the province.

Swat recorded the most new cases after Peshawar i.e. 49, while Malakand and Nowshera reported 19 cases each, Upper Dir 16, Lower Dir 13 and Nowshera and Bajaur districts five each.

According to report, 49 confirmed cases tested negative for the virus after being quarantined and were sent home. Such recoveries in the province totalled 1,033.

Swat has recorded 313 recovered cases, Malakand 223, Mardan 216, Lower Dir 123, Buner 116, Upper Dir 115, Nowshera 101, Mansehra 92, Abbottabad 84, Kohat 81 and Charsadda 78.

The province's all seven divisions has high Covid-19 incidence. Peshawar has recorded 1,962 confirmed cases and 163 deaths, Malakand 1,041 confirmed cases and 109 deaths, Hazara 242 confirmed cases and 11 deaths, Mardan 262 confirmed cases and one death, Kohat 184 confirmed cases and three deaths, Bannu 78 confirmed cases and three deaths, and Dera Ismail Khan 44 and 4.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to set up an emergency hospital with...