Coronavirus Update: Rise in interior Sindh cases

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The interior districts of Sindh witnessed significant increase in COVID-19 daily infection rate on July 5, when the health authorities confirmed 2,222 new infections during the last 24 hours across the province, with 25 more relevant fatalities.

According to the health department data, as of July 5, Karachi contributed 1,030 (46%) new cases to the overall daily tally of cases, while 1,150 (57%) new cases were reported from the interior districts. 

Earlier, Karachi reported 91% of the total new infections of Sindh on June 26, against 80% new cases on June 22, which had reduced to 45% on June 25. 

According to the data, as of July 5, among the interior districts, Ghotki reported the maximum 293 COVID-19 new cases, followed by Sukkur (128), Kambar Shahdadkot (80), Shaheed Benazirabad (75) and Dadu (73). 

The breakdown of other districts who reported new cases remained as: Khairpur (61), Badin (57), Tando Mohammad Khan (54), Sanghar (51), Kashmore (50), Hyderabad (50), Larkana (48), Mirpurkhas (37), Tando Allahyar (36), Shikarpur (33), Jacobabad (15), Matiari (14), Jamshoro (11), Naushero Feroze (11), Thatta (6), Sujawal (5) and Umerkot (4). 

According to the health department’s summary, 21 patients died due to COVID-19 during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on July 5, including 15 men and six women. Men’s ages ranged from 48 to 90 years, while that of women were from 61 to 89 years. 

Sukkur registered death of a man of 75 years and a woman of 60 years, while Sujawal and Ghotki reported demise of one man each, both aged 50 years. 

The summary further disclosed that 623 patients, out of 39,837 active cases, were in critical condition across the province. The overall tally of infections rose to 94,528 and fatalities to 1,526 for the province. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Sindh sub-office COVID-19 report, testing laboratories in the province conducted 10,669 tests for the virus on July 4, against their collective capacity for examining 13,850 samples a day.

The sub-office reported that the largest number of intensive care units (ICU) beds was in Karachi (273), with 19% vacancy on July 4, against 366 ICU beds available at various health centres across the province. The percentage of patients who are on ventilators was 26% in Karachi, 8% in Sukkur and 4% in Larkana.

In regard to distribution of high dependency units (HDU) beds in districts of Sindh as of July 4, the report said that there were total 1,134 beds, out of which the biggest number of HDU beds was in Karachi (816), with 63% vacancy. Overall the HDU capacity has further increased but the newly added are not fully functional and are expected to take occupancy soon, it was noted in the report.

As of July 4, Karachi’s East district had the highest number of fatalities (396), 26 percent of the total deaths in the province, followed by Karachi Central (276), Karachi South (235), Karachi West (148), Karachi Korangi (117), Karachi Malir (91), Hyderabad (46), Larkana (28) and other districts, according to the WHO report, which covered a period from March 10 to July 4, 2020.

COVID-19 turns a blessing for food home delivery in China

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

COVID-19 may not have entirely ruined the global economy but it has affected it badly. China, however, has witnessed rapid expansion in food delivery in its first half of 2020 as more people have opted to place online food orders amid the pandemic, according to a latest industry report.

Food delivery is estimated to account for about 20 percent of China's catering industry in 2020 so far, according to the report released by the Meituan Research Institute and the China Hospitality Association.

The report predicted that the market will continue to expand within the next three years to reach one trillion Yuan (about 142 billion U.S. dollars).

Affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, restaurants saw fewer dine-in customers and had heavy rent and payroll burdens, revealed a survey conducted by the Meituan Research Institute.

Many restaurants turned to food delivery to increase their income and tide over difficulties. Some 55 percent of the businesses surveyed said that they planned to develop their dine-in and delivery services equally in the future.

By the end of 2019, the number of food delivery consumers in China had reached 460 million, approximately half of the country's internet users.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: Unmatched brilliance

By Tanzeel Rauf Farooqui
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

It goes without saying that Barrister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a politician who was unparalleled and it can confidently be argued that no modern politician equates anywhere near to his competence or pedigree.

Born during the British Raj of India, Bhutto had seen many different aspects of life early on. He was a determined man, a few all called him stubborn, but whenever he wished to achieve something in life, he put extraordinary efforts to reach the goal. 

He went to the University of California, Berkley to attain his under graduate education and then proceeded to the prestigious University of Oxford. 

Stanley Wolpret, an English academic who wrote perhaps one of the most detailed and unbiased books on his personality titled ‘Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan’ narrated that Bhutto was determined to achieve any goal in life and he had even challenged his interviewer at Oxford having told him that he will outperform all the British students. 

After studying at Oxford, Bhutto was trained as a barrister and was called to the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. He always had the love for his nation at his heart and wanted to contribute in some way for his country. 

Determined, as he always was, he was able to join the cabinet of President Iskander Mirza at the young age of 30, which was indeed a stunning achievement. Recognizing his talents and capabilities, President Ayub Khan also included him in his cabinet and he was appointed as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan at the age of 35. 

God had been very kind to Bhutto as he was blessed with incredible qualities and he was able to accomplish his cherished goals at an early age. Who knew that this was all because he had been destined to a rather short life?

After forming differences with President Ayub Khan, he, along with a few of his colleagues, launched his own party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with a socialist manifesto with the aim to give back to the underprivileged segments of Pakistan.

Bhutto, although was a landlord himself, seemed to have compassion for the common man and he desired to bring about a change for them. An extraordinary orator that he was, he quickly appealed to the masses and already had a considerable support after his strong diplomacy skills had impressed not only the people of Pakistan but also many of the world leaders.

Stanley Wolpret recalled that once, when Bhutto had visited the United States, the President of arguably the strongest nation in the world expressed his gratitude to him and stated that if he had been an American, he would surely have been a part of his cabinet.

Bhutto, as egoistic as he always was, quickly responded that if he was an American, he would have been in the place of the President of the United States instead.

History has had its own distinctive ways to deal with world leaders, and as we witnessed, Bhutto was destined to be hanged by his own appointed Chief of Army Staff, General Zia-ul-Haq.

One could only wonder how, an incredibly stunning individual, exceptional diplomat and a sensational leader was sent to the gallows.

July 5, 1977 was the date when Bhutto’s government faced a coup from the military forces as the conditions of Pakistan, after the unfortunate fall of Dhaka, were deteriorating at a fast pace. It was perhaps his ego, which once had raised the marvelous individual quickly to the pinnacle of power in Pakistan, caused him to be hanged on April 4, 1979.

He will always be identified by history as an extraordinarily talented individual, who achieved what most people could only dream of at a very young age but perhaps could not handle all the success that had come his way far too soon.