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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 946,227, against 888,505 recoveries and 21,913 deaths, leaving 35,809 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 1,043 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 54,647 tests—a positivity ratio of 1.91 percent.
The government has decided to import 27.5 million doses of various coronavirus vaccines to prevent any future shortage that could impact the country’s ongoing vaccination drive. According to officials of the Health Ministry, 23 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine; 2.5 million of Sinovac; and two million of CanSinoBio would be procured from China. They said negotiations were also underway to procure additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine to cater to citizens who need to travel abroad to countries that do not accept Chinese vaccines.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 946,227 (Tests: 14,026,336)
Punjab – 344,641
Sindh – 330,552
Balochistan – 26,466
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 136,663
Islamabad – 82,278
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,759
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 19,868
Deaths – 21,913
Recoveries – 888,505
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 946,227. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 39 to 21,913. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,410 to 888,505, or 93.9 percent of total infections. There are currently 35,809 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,413 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 17 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 10,603. The province now has 344,641 confirmed cases; it reported 129 new infections after conducting 25,661 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.5 percent. There were 98 new recoveries recorded, leaving 323,576 fully recovered, and 10,462 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 330,552; it reported 605 new infections on Friday after administering 14,221 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.25 percent. The province reported 14 deaths, raising toll to 5,306, while its recoveries rose by 722 to 305,419. Overall, the province now has 19,827 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 189 new infections after conducting 9,612 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.97 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 136,663. It recorded 5 new deaths and 319 recoveries, raising toll to 4,252 and recoveries to 129,453. There are currently 2,958 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 26,466 with 57 new infections after administering 997 tests for a positivity ratio of 5.72 percent. There were 3 deaths and 120 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 300 fatalities and 25,372 fully recovered. There are now 794 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 25 to 82,278 after conducting 3,337 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.75 percent. There were no deaths and 73 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 773 casualties; 80,289 recovered; and 1,216 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 384 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.64 percent; it now has 5,759 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 27 recoveries, leaving 108 fatalities and 5,546 fully recovered people. There are currently 105 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 24 to 19,868 after administering 435 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.52 percent. There were no deaths and 51 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 571 fatalities and 18,850 fully recovered. It now has 447 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 178,202,480 people, with over 3,857,900 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 162,708,825 patients of the 178.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.