File photo
Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 893,461, against 810,143 recoveries and 20,089 deaths, leaving 63,229 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 3,070 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 51,528 tests—a positivity ratio of 5.9 percent.
The Sindh government on Thursday announced it would not ease restrictions imposed to curb mobility—in line with recommendations of the National Command and Operation Center—due to a drastic surge in new cases in the province, especially capital Karachi. In a statement, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah warned that if the situation did not start to improve in the next few days, the government might have to consider enforcing stricter guidelines, and urged the public to adopt SOPs and get vaccinated to protect themselves from the pandemic.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 893,461 (Tests: 12,654,997)
Punjab – 332,000
Sindh – 304,571
Balochistan – 24,318
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 128,561
Islamabad – 80,010
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,454
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 18,547
Deaths – 20,089
Recoveries – 810,143
Fully vaccinated people – 1,193,441
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 893,461. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 102 to 20,089. At the same time, recoveries increased by 6,021 to 810,143, or 90.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 63,229 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 4,424 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 64 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 9,704. The province now has 332,000 confirmed cases; it reported 898 new infections after conducting 20,272 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.4 percent. There were 3,898 new recoveries recorded, leaving 297,179 fully recovered, and 25,117 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 304,571; it reported 1,248 new infections on Friday after administering 17,123 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.3 percent. The province reported 15 deaths, raising toll to 4,869, while its recoveries rose by 908 to 279,188. Overall, the province now has 20,514 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 528 new infections after conducting 7,693 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.86 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 128,561. It recorded 20 new deaths and 597 recoveries, raising toll to 3,875 and recoveries to 117,773. There are currently 6,913 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 24,318 with 95 new infections after administering 1,377 tests for a positivity ratio of 6.9 percent. There were no deaths and 151 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 270 fatalities and 23,025 fully recovered. There are now 1,023 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 221 to 80,010 after conducting 3,897 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.67 percent. There was 1 death and 383 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 741 casualties; 71,382 recovered; and 7,887 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday recorded 2 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 298 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.67 percent; it now has 5,454 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 1 recovery, leaving 107 fatalities and 5,282 fully recovered people. There are currently 65 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 78 to 18,547 after administering 868 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.99 percent. There were 2 deaths and 83 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 523 fatalities and 16,314 fully recovered. It now has 1,710 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 165,857,655 people, with over 3,444,901 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 146,539,738 patients of the 165.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.