
Courtesy PID
Confirmed cases climb to 465,070 against 417,134 recoveries and 9,668 deaths, leaving 38,268 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday recorded 2,256 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 37,173 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.07 percent.
The provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has started work on tracing people who have arrived there from the United Kingdom in the past week in a bid to prevent the spread of a new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 that reportedly originated in London. According to the provincial health department, more than 100 people have arrived from the U.K. and traveled to 12 districts of the province, including Mardan, Abbottabad, and Swat. Officials have said that all the travelers will be traced and tested, and anyone found to have contracted COVID-19 would immediately be placed under quarantine.
Despite a severe second wave of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 54,319, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 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 – 465,070 (Tests: 6,428,240)
Punjab – 133,874
Sindh – 207,407
Balochistan – 18,005
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 56,160
Islamabad – 36,721
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,838
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 8,065
Deaths – 9,668
Recoveries – 417,134
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 465,070. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 111 to 9,668. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,782 to 417,134, or 89.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 38,268 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,361 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 51 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 3,783. The province now has 133,874 confirmed cases; it reported 695 new infections after conducting 15,486 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.49 percent. There were 104 new recoveries recorded, leaving 121,216 fully recovered, and 8,875 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 207,407; it reported 918 new infections on Thursday after conducting 11,643 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.88 percent. The province reported 40 new deaths, raising toll to 3,419, while its recoveries rose by 807 to 184,999. Overall, the province now has 18,989 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government has recorded 349 new infections after conducting 4,124 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.46 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 56,160. It recorded 14 new deaths, raising toll to 1,577, while its recoveries have risen by 504 to 50,244. There are currently 4,339 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 18,005 with 25 new infections after conducting 443 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.64 percent. There were 2 deaths and 52 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 181 fatalities and 17,529 fully recovered. There are now 295 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 238 to 36,721 after conducting 4,683 tests; a positivity ratio of 5.08 percent. There were 4 deaths and 212 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 398 casualties; 31,332 recovered; and 4,991 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday increased by 6 to 4,838 after conducting 389 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.54 percent. The region reported no deaths and 10 recoveries, leaving 99 fatalities and 4,649 fully recovered people. There are currently 90 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 25 to 8,065 after conducting 405 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.17 percent. There were 93 recoveries and no deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 211 fatalities and 7,165 fully recovered. It now has 689 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 79,053,973 people, with over 1,737,630 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 55,648,220 patients of the 79 million+ infected have recovered thus far.