Toll hits 17 as COVID-19 claims five more lives.

LAHORE: As many as five more patients fell prey to coronavirus across Pakistan on Sunday, taking the national death toll to 17, as Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar confirmed sixth fatality at the hands of coronavirus.

"Sadly we have lost another soul to COVID-19 today. A 68 year old lady, who came from KSA [Saudi Arabia] and was under treatment in Rahim Yar Khan. So far we have lost six lives while 593 confirmed COVID-19 patients are under treatment," he wrote on his official Twitter handle on Sunday. "Our teams are constantly tracking and testing contacts of patients," he added.

Revealing details of coronavirus cases in the province, CM Buzdar said currently there are 318 confirmed cases at quarantine facilities in DG Khan, Multan, Lahore and Faisalabad. Separately, Lahore has 116 patients, Gujrat 55, Gujranwala 11, Jhelum 28, Rawalpindi 30, Multan 2, Faisalabad 9, Mandi Bahauddin 4, Narowal 1, Rahim Yar Khan 2, Vehari 2, Sargodha 2, Attock 1, Bahawalnagar 1, Mianwali 2, Nankana Sahib 2, Khushab 1, Bahawalpur 1 and DG Khan 5.

Earlier, the KP government also confirmed another coronavirus death, as the provincial toll rose to five. According to health officials, the 78-year-old-man who passed away in Abbottabad was infected by Tableeghi Jamaat members in the area.

According to reports, the KP government traced and quarantined three close contacts of a man who died from the novel coronavirus in Abbottabad. According to a daily report by the provincial health department, the quarantined people were with the deceased person in the Tableeghi Jamaat.

District Health Officer (DHO) Abbottabad Dr Faisal Khanzada said the patient was under treatment at CMH Abbottabad. The five deaths in KP are in Hangu, Mardan, Parachinar, Lower Dir and Abbottabad, the DHO said.

Meanwhile, two patients died in Karachi, a spokesperson for Sindh Health Department confirmed on Sunday, taking the provincial death toll to three.

Both individuals passed away from pneumonia along with COVID-19, the spokesperson noted, adding that they were from Karachi and aged 77 and 83.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho explained that the two deaths occurred late on March 28. "We received the lab reports of both patients after they had passed away and we found out that the cause of death in both cases was pneumonia along with COVID-19," she said.

Also, according to a notification issued by the Sindh Home...