Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 559,093, against 516,683 recoveries and 12,185 deaths, leaving 30,225 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 1,502 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 37,452 tests—a positivity ratio of 4.02 percent.
Planning Minister Asad Umar on Wednesday announced that authorities would commence registration of elderly (people over 65) for coronavirus vaccinations from next week. In a posting on Twitter, he said that the vaccinations for people who registered in this phase would start in March. The National Command and Operation Center has already announced that vaccinations for the general public will commence after healthcare workers and the elderly have been inoculated.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 59,731, 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 – 559,093 (Tests: 8,325,543)
Punjab – 162,391
Sindh – 252,296
Balochistan – 18,898
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 68,972
Islamabad – 42,279
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,923
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 9,334
Deaths – 12,185
Recoveries – 516,683
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 559,093. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 57 to 12,185. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,732 to 516,683, or 92.4 percent of total infections. There are currently 30,225 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,760 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 34 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 4,982. The province now has 162,391 confirmed cases; it reported 634 new infections after conducting 13,333 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.75 percent. There were 719 new recoveries recorded, leaving 149,987 fully recovered, and 7,422 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 252,296; it reported 538 new infections on Thursday after conducting 11,015 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.88 percent. The province reported 14 new deaths, raising toll to 4,171, while its recoveries rose by 623 to 229,215. Overall, the province now has 18,910 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 186 new infections after conducting 7,066 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.63 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 68,972. It recorded 6 new deaths, raising toll to 1,976, while its recoveries have risen by 280 to 64,933. There are currently 2,063 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 18,898 with 7 new infections after conducting 473 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.48 percent. There were no deaths and 7 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 197 fatalities and 18,619 fully recovered. There are now 82 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 91 to 42,279 after conducting 4,747 tests; a positivity ratio of 1.92 percent. There were no deaths and 67 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 481 casualties; 40,516 recovered; and 1,282 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 3 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 360 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.83 percent; it now has 4,923 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 4 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,799 fully recovered people. There are currently 22 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 43 to 9,334 after conducting 458 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.39 percent. There were 3 deaths and 32 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 276 fatalities and 8,614 fully recovered. It now has 444 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 107,855,946 people, with over 2,364,978 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 its spread ahead of mass distribution of vaccines. Overall, around 79,871,568 patients of the 107.8 million+ infected have recovered thus far.