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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 841,636, against 738,727 recoveries and 18,429 deaths, leaving 84,480 active cases
Pakistan on Wednesday reported 4,113 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 44,838 tests—a positivity ratio of 9.17 percent.
Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), on Tuesday announced that average compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus had increased to 68 percent on May 3, against 34 percent on April 25. Crediting stronger enforcement measures, including the deployment of the military, for the gains, Umar urged citizens to continue cooperating to prevent a new surge of infections. “Need to sustain and build on this compliance level specially till Eid,” he added in a posting on Twitter.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 841,636 (Tests: 12,010,519)
Punjab – 310,616
Sindh – 287,643
Balochistan – 22,776
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 121,099
Islamabad – 76,696
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,341
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 17,465
Deaths – 18,429
Recoveries – 738,727
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Wednesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 841,636. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 119 to 18,429. At the same time, recoveries increased by 5,665 to 738,727, or 87.8 percent of total infections. There are currently 84,480 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 5,211 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Wednesday, authorities reported 58 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 8,741. The province now has 310,616 confirmed cases; it reported 2,087 new infections after conducting 16,844 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.39 percent. There were 3,285 new recoveries recorded, leaving 260,241 fully recovered, and 41,634 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 287,643; it reported 1,122 new infections on Wednesday after conducting 15,297 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.33 percent. The province reported 9 deaths, raising toll to 4,687, while its recoveries rose by 612 to 266,388. Overall, the province now has 16,568 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 509 new infections after conducting 7,131 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.14 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 121,099. It recorded 43 new deaths and 1,030 recoveries, raising toll to 3,466 and recoveries to 106,557. There are currently 11,076 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Wednesday raised its confirmed cases to 22,776 with 112 new infections after conducting 628 tests, a positivity ratio of 17.83 percent. There were no deaths and 136 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 239 fatalities and 21,150 fully recovered. There are now 1,387 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Wednesday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 204 to 76,696 after conducting 4,035 tests; a positivity ratio of 5.06 percent. There were 5 deaths and 488 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 698 casualties; 64,421 recovered; and 11,577 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 396 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.78 percent; it now has 5,341 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 4 recoveries, leaving 107 fatalities and 5,114 fully recovered people. There are currently 120 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 68 to 17,465 after conducting 507 tests, a positivity ratio of 13.41 percent. There were 4 deaths and 110 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 491 fatalities and 14,856 fully recovered. It now has 2,118 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 154,981,439 people, with over 3,241,145 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 132,455,918 patients of the 154.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.