Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 561,625, against 523,700 recoveries and 12,276 deaths, leaving 25,649 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 1,262 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 37,115 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.4 percent.
The government has approved for emergency-use China’s CanSinoBio COVID-19 vaccine, making it the fourth vaccine to be granted approval for immunizations in Pakistan. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan had earlier approved China’s Sinopharm, Russia’s Sputnik-V, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. According to interim efficacy results released by CanSinoBio last week, it has a 65.7 percent effectiveness in preventing symptomatic coronavirus cases, and a 90.98 percent success in halting severe infections.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 59,731, 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 – 561,625 (Tests: 8,399,623)
Punjab – 163,367
Sindh – 253,090
Balochistan – 18,924
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 69,386
Islamabad – 42,513
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,937
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 9,408
Deaths – 12,276
Recoveries – 523,700
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 561,625. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 58 to 12,276. At the same time, recoveries increased by 5,536 to 523,700, or 93.2 percent of total infections. There are currently 25,649 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,692 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 32 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,026. The province now has 163,367 confirmed cases; it reported 492 new infections after conducting 13,142 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.74 percent. There were 346 new recoveries recorded, leaving 150,984 fully recovered, and 7,357 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 253,090; it reported 371 new infections on Saturday after conducting 10,679 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.47 percent. The province reported 16 new deaths, raising toll to 4,199, while its recoveries rose by 4,939 to 234,584. Overall, the province now has 14,307 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 222 new infections after conducting 6,879 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.23 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 69,386. It recorded 6 new deaths, raising toll to 1,986, while its recoveries have risen by 136 to 65,349. There are currently 2,051 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 18,924 with 8 new infections after conducting 474 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.69 percent. There was 1 death and 5 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 198 fatalities and 18,634 fully recovered. There are now 92 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 112 to 42,513 after conducting 5,065 tests; a positivity ratio of 2.21 percent. There was 1 death and 75 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 484 casualties; 40,674 recovered; and 1,355 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 8 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday after conducting 369 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.17 percent; it now has 4,937 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 2 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,805 fully recovered people. There are currently 30 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 49 to 9,408 after conducting 507 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.66 percent. There were 2 deaths and 33 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 281 fatalities and 8,670 fully recovered. It now has 457 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 108,730,569 people, with over 2,394,125 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now reeling from a second wave of the coronavirus, with many countries imposing fresh lockdowns or targeted closures in a bid to curb its spread ahead of mass distribution of vaccines. Overall, around 80,742,722 patients of the 108.7 million+ infected have recovered thus far.