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Confirmed infections reach 568,506, against 531,840 recoveries and 12,527 deaths, leaving 24,139 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 1,245 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 34,754 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.58 percent.
Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Thursday announced that Pakistan would begin its next vaccination phase from March, adding that the country was set to receive 2.8 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organization’s COVAX regime. “This is a positive development as we will be able to kick-start our second phase,” he said, reiterating that people over 65 would be catered to in the second phase.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 59,981, 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 – 568,506 (Tests: 8,602,515)
Punjab – 166,242
Sindh – 255,039
Balochistan – 18,967
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 70,493
Islamabad – 43,145
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,947
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 9,673
Deaths – 12,527
Recoveries – 531,840
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 568,506. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 40 to 12,527. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,243 to 531,840, or 93.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 24,139 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,626 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 28 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,166. The province now has 166,242 confirmed cases; it reported 526 new infections after conducting 12,049 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.36 percent. There were 280 new recoveries recorded, leaving 153,924 fully recovered, and 7,152 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 255,039; it reported 361 new infections on Friday after conducting 10,863 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.32 percent. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 4,267, while its recoveries rose by 659 to 238,030. Overall, the province now has 12,742 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 187 new infections after conducting 6,430 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.91 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 70,493. It recorded 5 new deaths, raising toll to 2,020, while its recoveries have risen by 151 to 66,391. There are currently 2,082 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 18,967 with 9 new infections after conducting 725 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.24 percent. There were no deaths and 7 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 199 fatalities and 18,675 fully recovered. There are now 93 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 116 to 43,145 after conducting 3,456 tests; a positivity ratio of 3.36 percent. There was 1 death and 109 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 488 casualties; 41,139 recovered; and 1,518 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 2 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 467 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.43 percent; it now has 4,947 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 3 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,816 fully recovered people. There are currently 29 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 44 to 9,673 after conducting 764 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.76 percent. There was 1 death and 34 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 285 fatalities and 8,865 fully recovered. It now has 523 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 110,862,700 people, with over 2,453,098 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now slowly recovering from a second wave of the coronavirus, aided in part by the launch of vaccination campaigns. Overall, around 85,805,645 patients of the 110.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.