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Confirmed infections reach 710,829, against 625,789 recoveries and 15,229 deaths, leaving 69,811 active cases
Pakistan on Friday recorded 5,312 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 54,948 tests—a positivity ratio of 9.67 percent.
Planning Minister Asad Umar on Thursday announced that the government plans to launch registration for COVID-19 vaccinations for all citizens after Eidul Fitr. He termed the next five to six weeks “critical” for the ongoing third wave of the pandemic and urged the public to adopt preventative measures to avoid stringent restrictions. Separately, the NCOC announced that vaccination centers nationwide would no longer operate on Fridays—but would be open on Sunday.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 61,577, 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 – 710,829 (Tests: 10,639,825)
Punjab – 243,295
Sindh – 267,970
Balochistan – 20,097
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 96,128
Islamabad – 64,173
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,097
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 14,069
Deaths – 15,229
Recoveries – 625,789
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 710,829. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 105 to 15,229. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,390 to 625,789, or 88 percent of total infections. There are currently 69,811 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 4,116 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 58 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,851. The province now has 243,295 confirmed cases; it reported 2,711 new infections after conducting 25,871 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.48 percent. There were 1,188 new recoveries recorded, leaving 199,941 fully recovered, and 36,503 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 267,970; it reported 358 new infections on Friday after conducting 9,392 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.81 percent. The province reported 1 new death, raising toll to 4,521, while its recoveries rose by 146 to 257,322. Overall, the province now has 6,127 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 1,248 new infections after conducting 8,090 tests, a positivity ratio of 15.43 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 96,128. It recorded 34 new deaths and 666 recoveries, raising toll to 2,553 and recoveries to 81,959. There are currently 11,616 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 20,097 with 98 new infections after conducting 1,257 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.8 percent. There was 1 death and 46 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 213 fatalities and 19,295 fully recovered. There are now 589 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 674 to 64,173 after conducting 8,711 tests; a positivity ratio of 7.74 percent. There were 6 deaths and 192 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 597 casualties; 50,722 recovered; and 12,854 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 27 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 467 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.78 percent; it now has 5,097 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 16 recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,912 fully recovered people. There are currently 82 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 196 to 14,069 after conducting 1,160 tests, a positivity ratio of 16.9 percent. There were 5 deaths and 136 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 391 fatalities and 11,638 fully recovered. It now has 2,040 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 134,525,543 people, with over 2,915,012 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now slowly recovering from a second wave of the coronavirus, aided largely by the launch of mass vaccination campaigns. Overall, around 108,327,772 patients of the 134.5 million+ infected have recovered thus far.