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Confirmed cases rise to 371,508 against 328,931 recoveries and 7,603 deaths, leaving 34,974 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday recorded 2,843 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,752 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.65 percent—the highest number of daily infections since July 8.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Friday imposed a ban on indoor weddings across Pakistan—however authorities in Sindh have granted a special exemption to the restrictions, allowing marriage halls to continue to stage weddings indoors, provided they stringently adopt standard operating procedures to curb the spread of the virus.
The Pakistan government has acknowledged the country is now in the midst of a second wave of the virus, with health officials warning it appears deadlier than the first. Meanwhile, the country has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 74,407 and is currently testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies have suggested comprise the majority of infections in the country.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 371,508 (Tests: 5,141,403)
Punjab – 113,457
Sindh – 161,028
Balochistan – 16,699
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 43,730
Islamabad – 26,177
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,506
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 5,911
Deaths – 7,603
Recoveries – 328,931
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 371,508. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 42 to 7,603. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,389 to 328,931, or 88.5 percent of total infections. There are currently 34,974 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 1,613 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 15 new deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 2,826. The province now has 113,457 total confirmed cases; it reported 564 new infections after conducting 16,275 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.47 percent. There were 38 new recoveries recorded, leaving 97,928 fully recovered, and 12,703 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 161,028; it reported 1,276 new infections on Saturday after conducting 12,975 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.83 percent. The province reported 19 new deaths, raising toll to 2,799, while its recoveries rose by 827 to 145,143. Overall, the province now has 13,086 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government has recorded 371 new infections after conducting 4,615 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.04 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 43,730. It has recorded 4 new deaths, raising toll to 1,323, while its recoveries have risen by 171 to 39,818. There are currently 2,589 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 16,699 with 57 new infections after conducting 664 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.58 percent. There was no new death, and 11 recoveries, in the past 24 hours, leaving 158 fatalities and 15,972 fully recovered. There are now 569 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 458 to 26,177 after conducting 7,025 tests; a positivity ratio of 6.52 percent. There were 4 deaths and 264 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 270 casualties; 21,486 recovered; and 4,421 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday increased by 12 to 4,506 after conducting 302 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.97 percent. The region reported no new deaths and 22 recoveries, leaving 93 fatalities and 4,266 fully recovered people. There are currently 147 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 105 to 5,911 after conducting 896 tests, a positivity ratio of 11.72 percent. There were 56 recoveries and no deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 134 fatalities and 4,318 fully recovered. It now has 1,459 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 57,906,575 people, with over 1,377,589 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now reeling from a second wave of the coronavirus, with many countries imposing fresh lockdowns or targeted closures in a bid to curb the spread of the virus ahead of the upcoming winter holidays. Overall, around 40,105,543 patients of the 57.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.