Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 1,301,141, against 1,258,086 recoveries and 28,961 deaths, leaving 14,094 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 1,293 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 51,145 tests—a positivity ratio of 2.5 percent.
In an interview with private broadcaster Geo News, Planning Minister Asad Umar—who also heads the National Command and Operation Center overseeing the country’s pandemic response—said the government’s primary mitigation strategy for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was vaccination. Despite a significant uptick in confirmed infections over the past week, he said authorities were not yet considering a lockdown, adding that restrictions would instead be placed on certain activities for the unvaccinated.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 1,301,141 (Tests: 23,706,375)
Punjab – 446,676
Sindh – 484,985
Balochistan – 33,655
Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa – 181,614
Islamabad – 109,093
Gilgit-Baltistan – 10,429
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 34,689
Deaths – 28,961
Recoveries – 1,258,086
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 1,301,141. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 6 to 28,961. At the same time, recoveries increased by 239 to 1,258,086, or 96.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 14,094 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 609 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 1 death due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties at 13,077. The province now has 446,676 confirmed cases; it reported 376 new infections after administering 18,681 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.01 percent. There were 70 new recoveries recorded, leaving 429,591 fully recovered, and 4,008 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 484,985; it reported 759 new infections on Friday after conducting 17,702 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.3 percent. The province reported 2 deaths and 105 recoveries, raising toll to 7,678 and total recovered to 468,467. Overall, the province now has 8,840 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Friday reported 41 new cases after administering 8,545 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.48 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 181,614. It recorded 3 new deaths and 26 recoveries, raising toll to 5,941 and recoveries to 175,062. There are currently 611 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its total confirmed cases to 33,655, reporting 1 new infection after conducting 294 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.34 percent. There were no deaths and 4 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 366 fatalities and 33,255 fully recovered. There are now 34 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases to 109,093, reporting 109 new cases after conducting 5,107 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.13 percent. There were no deaths and 30 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 967 casualties; 107,558 recovered; and 568 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of coronavirus on Friday after conducting 212 tests; it currently has 10,429 confirmed cases. There were no deaths or recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 186 fatalities; 10,242 fully recovered people; and 1 active case of COVID-19.
Pakistan-administered Kashmir has reported 7 new cases of COVID-19 after administering 604 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.16 percent, raising confirmed cases to 34,689. There were no deaths and 4 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 746 fatalities and 33,911 fully recovered. It now has 32 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 300,852,497 people, with over 5,490,044 reported deaths. After having passed through multiple waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are struggling to counter mutated variants, or have introduced vaccination boosters to maintain normalcy. There are mounting calls, especially 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 prevent the mutation of new variants. Overall, around 257,555,863 patients of the 300.8 million+ infected have recovered thus far.