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Confirmed cases rise to 335,093 against 315,016 recoveries and 6,835 deaths, leaving 13,242 active cases
Pakistan on Monday reported 1,123 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 27,953 tests—a positivity ratio of 4.02 percent.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani has warned that though schools are open right now, the government might be compelled to close them if the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen. Punjab Health Minister Murad Raas, meanwhile, said there were no plans to close schools despite an increase in coronavirus numbers. In a posting on Twitter, he claimed that random testing had only detected a “slight increase” in numbers.
Pakistan’s health authorities have been sounding the alarm about a second wave of the virus for several weeks now. Daily infections and deaths are once more on the rise, raising fears that disease is making a comeback as the public becomes more apathetic toward social distancing measures. Meanwhile, the country has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 72,232 and is currently testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to WHO, Pakistan’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which recent studies have suggested comprise the majority of infections in the country.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 335,093 (Tests: 4,486,843)
Punjab – 104,554
Sindh – 146,331
Balochistan – 15,954
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 39,649
Islamabad – 20,089
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,279
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 4,237
Deaths – 6,835
Recoveries – 315,016
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Monday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 335,093. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 12 to 6,835. At the same time, recoveries increased by 461 to 315,016, or 94 percent of total infections. There are currently 13,242 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 707 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Monday, authorities reported 3 new deaths due to COVID-19, raising fatalities to 2,365. The province raised its confirmed cases to 104,554 with 283 new infections after conducting 8,585 tests. Meanwhile, its recoveries have increased by 15 to 97,471. There are now 4,718 active cases of the virus in the province.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh on Monday rose by 480 to 146,331 after conducting 11,313 tests. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 2,631, while its recoveries rose by 110 to 138,779. Overall, the province now has 4,921 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Monday reported 2 deaths, raising toll to 1,279. In the past 24 hours, its recoveries rose by 59 to 37,642 while its confirmed cases have increased by 85 to 39,649 after conducting 3,584 tests. The province currently has 728 active cases of coronavirus.
Balochistan
The province has raised its confirmed cases to 15,954 with 34 new infections after conducting 732 tests. There were no new deaths and 16 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 151 fatalities and 15,569 recoveries. There are now 234 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Monday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 119 to 20,089 after conducting 2,608 tests. There was no new death and 150 recoveries in the past 24 hours, raising casualties to 222 and recoveries to 18,209, leaving 1,658 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday increased by 18 to 4,279 after conducting 402 tests. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 92 fatalities and 3,986 recoveries. There are currently 201 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, 729 tests were conducted, raising confirmed cases by 104 to 4,237. There were 111 recoveries and 3 deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 95 fatalities and 3,360 fully recovered. It now has 782 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 46,823,070 people, with over 1,205,321 reported deaths. Governments across the word halted flights, locked down towns and cities and urged people to stay at home at the peak of the virus’s spread, but have since eased restrictions to help shuttered economies rebound. With a second wave now emerging, countries with new spikes have started to re-impose movement restrictions. Overall, around 33,754,837 patients of the 46.8 million+ infected have recovered thus far.