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Confirmed infections reach 815,711, against 708,193 recoveries and 17,680 deaths, leaving 89,838 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 5,480 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 57,013 tests—a positivity ratio of 9.6 percent.
Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday urged the federal government to withdraw age restrictions on citizens eligible for coronavirus vaccinations, stressing that every adult Pakistani should be permitted to get vaccinated to maximize the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated. “If people in a senior age bracket are showing hesitancy to get vaccinated, but another group is willing, then they should not be deprived of the opportunity to get vaccinated on the basis of age,” he added. Currently, vaccinations are underway for citizens aged 50 and above, while registrations have commenced for those aged 40 and up.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 815,711 (Tests: 11,739,027)
Punjab – 298,818
Sindh – 281,385
Balochistan – 22,118
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 116,523
Islamabad – 74,640
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,296
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 16,931
Deaths – 17,680
Recoveries – 708,193
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 815,711. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 150 to 17,680. At the same time, recoveries increased by 3,699 to 708,193, or 86.8 percent of total infections. There are currently 89,838 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 5,263 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 103 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 8,327. The province now has 298,818 confirmed cases; it reported 2,674 new infections. There were 1,254 new recoveries recorded, leaving 242,068 fully recovered, and 48,423 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 281,385; it reported 1,029 new infections on Thursday. The province reported 5 new deaths, raising toll to 4,629, while its recoveries rose by 508 to 263,773. Overall, the province now has 12,983 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 927 new infections. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 116,523. It recorded 37 new deaths and 1,291 recoveries, raising toll to 3,238 and recoveries to 101,342. There are currently 11,943 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 22,118 with 173 new infections. There were no deaths and 66 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 233 fatalities and 20,530 fully recovered. There are now 1,355 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 509 to 74,640. There were 2 deaths and 415 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 677 casualties; 61,236 recovered; and 12,727 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19; it now has 5,296 confirmed cases. The region reported 1 new death and no recoveries, leaving 106 fatalities and 5,050 fully recovered people. There are currently 141 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 152 to 16,931. There were 2 deaths and 166 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 470 fatalities and 14,195 fully recovered. It now has 2,266 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 150,242,628 people, with over 3,164,170 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 127,775,690 patients of the 150.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.