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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 930,511, against 860,385 recoveries and 21,189 deaths, leaving 48,937 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 1,923 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 50,393 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.82 percent.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Department on Friday confirmed that the Indian variant of the coronavirus—dubbed Delta by the World Health Organization—had been detected in one patient of the province. Two other patients, meanwhile, were found to be infected with the South African, or Beta, variant. All three patients had arrived in Pakistan from the United Arab Emirates a few days back. Delta has already been declared a “variant of concern” by WHO over its rapid spread in India and the provincial health secretary warned that if people did not exercise precautions, there was great risk of it transmitting in Pakistan as well.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 930,511 (Tests: 13,471,172)
Punjab – 341,789
Sindh – 322,350
Balochistan – 25,589
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 134,072
Islamabad – 81,626
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,629
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 19,456
Deaths – 21,189
Recoveries – 860,385
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 930,511. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 84 to 21,189. At the same time, recoveries increased by 4,380 to 860,385, or 92.5 percent of total infections. There are currently 48,937 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 3,452 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 57 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 10,241. The province now has 341,789 confirmed cases; it reported 399 new infections after conducting 21,390 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.86 percent. There were 1,832 new recoveries recorded, leaving 316,166 fully recovered, and 15,382 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 322,350; it reported 925 new infections on Saturday after administering 14,937 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.19 percent. The province reported 16 deaths, raising toll to 5,105, while its recoveries rose by 1,509 to 293,510. Overall, the province now has 23,735 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 326 new infections after conducting 8,078 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.04 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 134,072. It recorded 10 new deaths and 299 recoveries, raising toll to 4,135 and recoveries to 125,357. There are currently 4,580 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 25,589 with 113 new infections after administering 1,652 tests for a positivity ratio of 6.84 percent. There were no deaths and 133 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 287 fatalities and 24,262 fully recovered. There are now 1,040 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 86 to 81,626 after conducting 3,331 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.58 percent. There were no deaths and 522 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 763 casualties; 77,584 recovered; and 3,279 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday recorded 6 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 331 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.81 percent; it now has 5,629 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 107 fatalities and 5,399 fully recovered people. There are currently 123 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 68 to 19,456 after administering 674 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.09 percent. There was 1 death and 85 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 551 fatalities and 18,107 fully recovered. It now has 798 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 173,328,934 people, with over 3,727,657 reported deaths. After having passed through two waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are either in the midst of a third wave driven by mutated variants, or have launched mass vaccination drives that are allowing them to reopen safely. There are mounting calls, including from the World Health Organization, for “vaccine equality,” i.e. for developed nations to stop hoarding vaccines in excess of their requirements and to share them with the developing world to help curb the spread of new mutated variants. Overall, around 156,075,401 patients of the 173.3 million+ infected have recovered thus far.