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Confirmed infections hit 497,510 against 453,828 recoveries and 10,558 deaths, leaving 33,124 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 2,435 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 38,369 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.35 percent.
Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services Dr. Nausheen Hamid has claimed Pakistan will receive its first coronavirus vaccine shipment by the end of this month. However, she was unclear on which vaccine this would be, and stressed that frontline healthcare workers would receive the first inoculations. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s Munira Yamin Satti, a parliamentarian in the Punjab Assembly, died on Thursday due to coronavirus-related complications.
Despite a severe second wave of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 57,531, 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 – 497,510 (Tests: 7,002,706)
Punjab – 143,511
Sindh – 222,999
Balochistan – 18,314
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 60,536
Islamabad – 38,842
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,878
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 8,430
Deaths – 10,558
Recoveries – 453,828
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 497,510. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 48 to 10,558. At the same time, recoveries increased by 3,313 to 453,828, or 91.2 percent of total infections. There are currently 33,124 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,285 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 18 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 4,221. The province now has 143,511 confirmed cases; it reported 676 new infections after conducting 14,804 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.56 percent. There were 219 new recoveries recorded, leaving 129,321 fully recovered, and 9,969 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 222,999; it reported 1,265 new infections on Friday after conducting 12,461 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.15 percent. The province reported 17 new deaths, raising toll to 3,670, while its recoveries rose by 2,385 to 202,034. Overall, the province now has 17,295 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government has recorded 307 new infections after conducting 5,581 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.5 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 60,536. It recorded 8 new deaths, raising toll to 1,710, while its recoveries have risen by 356 to 55,728. There are currently 3,098 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 18,314 with 14 new infections after conducting 500 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.8 percent. There were no deaths and 10 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 186 fatalities and 17,893 fully recovered. There are now 235 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 155 to 38,842 after conducting 4,492 tests; a positivity ratio of 3.45 percent. There were 3 deaths and 315 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 436 casualties; 36,231 recovered; and 2,175 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 4 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 312 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.28 percent. It now has 4,878 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 5 recoveries, leaving 101 fatalities and 4,727 fully recovered people. There are currently 50 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 14 to 8,430 after conducting 219 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.39 percent. There were 2 deaths and 23 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 234 fatalities and 7,894 fully recovered. It now has 302 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 88,499,896 people, with over 1,906,693 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 63,610,693 patients of the 88.5 million+ infected have recovered thus far.