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Confirmed infections reach 597,497, against 566,493 recoveries and 13,377 deaths, leaving 17,628 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 2,258 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,164 tests—a positivity ratio of 5.35 percent.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Wednesday re-imposed several coronavirus prevention measures that had earlier been revoked, with Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan urging the public to ensure full mask compliance in public spaces. The new restrictions, which are now set to expire on April 15, have limited operational hours for commercial activities to 10 p.m.; recommended 50 percent work-from-home in cities with high positivity ratios, and retained a ban on indoor dining, wedding receptions and reopening of cinemas and shrines.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 60,977, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan’s testing policies only record the most symptomatic patients—a belief substantiated by a Punjab government official as the “most efficient use of resources”—while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies suggest comprise the majority of infections nationwide.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 597,497 (Tests: 9,360,202)
Punjab – 180,944
Sindh – 260,406
Balochistan – 19,157
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 74,722
Islamabad – 46,579
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,959
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 10,730
Deaths – 13,377
Recoveries – 566,493
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 597,497. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 53 to 13,377. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,276 to 566,492, or 94.8 percent of total infections. There are currently 17,628 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,688 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 33 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,662. The province now has 180,944 confirmed cases; it reported 1,290 new infections after conducting 17,174 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.51 percent. There were 698 new recoveries recorded, leaving 167,967 fully recovered, and 7,315 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 260,406; it reported 256 new infections on Thursday after conducting 9,964 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.57 percent. The province reported 6 new deaths, raising toll to 4,448, while its recoveries rose by 142 to 251,673. Overall, the province now has 4,285 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 289 new infections after conducting 6,704 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.31 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 74,722. It recorded 7 new deaths, raising toll to 2,129, while its recoveries have risen by 195 to 70,044. There are currently 2,549 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 19,157 with 16 new infections after conducting 405 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.95 percent. There were no deaths and 3 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 202 fatalities and 18,845 fully recovered. There are now 110 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 350 to 46,579 after conducting 6,863 tests; a positivity ratio of 5.09 percent. There were 4 deaths and 191 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 516 casualties; 43,435 recovered; and 2,628 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 341 tests; it now has 4,959 confirmed cases. The region reported 1 death and 2 recoveries, leaving 104 fatalities and 4,855 fully recovered people. There are currently 0 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 57 to 10,730 after conducting 713 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.99 percent. There were 2 deaths and 45 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 316 fatalities and 9,673 fully recovered. It now has 741 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 118,632,441 people, with over 2,632,050 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now slowly recovering from a second wave of the coronavirus, aided in part by the launch of vaccination campaigns. Overall, around 94,240,033 patients of the 118.6 million+ infected have recovered thus far.