Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections hit 495,075 against 450,515 recoveries and 10,511 deaths, leaving 34,049 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 2,482 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 40,509 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.13 percent.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, in a statement issued on Wednesday, announced he had recovered from the novel coronavirus after securing a negative result in his latest test. ““Due to the grace of Allah Almighty and the prayers of people, I have recovered from the COVID-19,” he said, and urged the public to adopt all government-issued guidelines and wear masks to protect themselves from the pandemic.
Despite a severe second wave of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 56,531, 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 – 495,075 (Tests: 6,964,337)
Punjab – 142,835
Sindh – 221,734
Balochistan – 18,300
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 60,229
Islamabad – 38,687
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,874
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 8,416
Deaths – 10,511
Recoveries – 450,515
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 495,075. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 50 to 10,511. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,122 to 450,515, or 91 percent of total infections. There are currently 34,049 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,251 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 19 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 4,203. The province now has 142,835 confirmed cases; it reported 777 new infections after conducting 15,562 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.99 percent. There were 327 new recoveries recorded, leaving 129,102 fully recovered, and 9,530 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 221,734; it reported 1,233 new infections on Thursday after conducting 13,699 tests, a positivity ratio of 9 percent. The province reported 19 new deaths, raising toll to 3,653, while its recoveries rose by 1,072 to 199,649. Overall, the province now has 18,432 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government has recorded 274 new infections after conducting 4,798 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.72 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 60,229. It recorded 7 new deaths, raising toll to 1,702, while its recoveries have risen by 347 to 55,372. There are currently 3,155 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 18,300 with 20 new infections after conducting 599 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.34 percent. There were no deaths and 26 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 186 fatalities and 17,883 fully recovered. There are now 231 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 156 to 38,687 after conducting 5,167 tests; a positivity ratio of 3.02 percent. There were 2 deaths and 307 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 434 casualties; 35,916 recovered; and 2,337 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 1 new case of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 413 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.24 percent. It now has 4,874 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 5 recoveries, leaving 101 fatalities and 4,722 fully recovered people. There are currently 51 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 20 to 8,416 after conducting 271 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.38 percent. There were 3 deaths and 38 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 232 fatalities and 7,871 fully recovered. It now has 313 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 87,640,402 people, with over 1,891,692 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 61,131,926 patients of the 87.6 million+ infected have recovered thus far.