Another Punjab MPA dies of coronavirus

LAHORE – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) provincial lawmaker Shaukat Manzoor Cheema died from novel coronavirus as death toll reached 1,717 in country.

Cheema contracted infection last month and he was placed on ventilator after his health deteriorated but he could not survive it.

The deceased MPA was elected from PP-51, Wazirabad, during 2018 general elections. It was third time in a row that he was elected in his constituency.

In May, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) female MPA Shaheen Raza from Gujranwala had succumbed to the coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to a total of 82,287, according to government data till Wednesday evening.

The death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 1,717, according to the National Command and Control Centre, while at least 29,407 patients have fully recovered.

Punjab has reported highest number of deaths, a total of 570, while Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follow with 555 and 490 fatalities respectively. Balochistan has recorded 49 deaths; Islamabad, 34; Gilgit Baltistan, 12; and Azad Kashmir, 7.

The first two fatalities from COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 18 (Wednesday).