Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 578,797, against 544,406 recoveries and 12,837 deaths, leaving 21,554 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 1,315 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 39,086 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.36 percent.
The Punjab government on Friday announced that it would maintain 50 percent daily attendance in all educational institutions in districts that are still reporting 20 or more coronavirus cases per day. According to a notification by the Department of School Education, students in Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad would continue to attend in-person classes on alternate days, adding that this policy would be revisited on March 31.
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 – 578,797 (Tests: 8,912,918)
Punjab – 170,817
Sindh – 257,730
Balochistan – 19,038
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 72,003
Islamabad – 44,106
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,956
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 10,147
Deaths – 12,837
Recoveries – 544,406
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 578,797. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 33 to 12,837. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,013 to 544,406, or 94.1 percent of total infections. There are currently 21,554 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,538 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 14 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,337. The province now has 170,817 confirmed cases; it reported 595 new infections after conducting 15,079 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.95 percent. There were 1,390 new recoveries recorded, leaving 160,685 fully recovered, and 4,795 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 257,730; it reported 322 new infections on Saturday after conducting 10,865 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.96 percent. The province reported 13 new deaths, raising toll to 4,335, while its recoveries rose by 273 to 241,256. Overall, the province now has 12,139 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 275 new infections after conducting 7,215 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.81 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 72,003. It recorded 5 new deaths, raising toll to 2,070, while its recoveries have risen by 171 to 67,803. There are currently 2,130 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 19,038 with 3 new infections after conducting 556 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.54 percent. There was no deaths and 9 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 200 fatalities and 18,743 fully recovered. There are now 95 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 74 to 44,106 after conducting 4,382 tests; a positivity ratio of 1.69 percent. There were no deaths and 129 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 496 casualties; 41,894 recovered; and 1,716 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday after conducting 343 tests; it now has 4,956 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths or recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,840 fully recovered people. There are currently 14 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 46 to 10,147 after conducting 646 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.12 percent. There was 1 death and 41 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 297 fatalities and 9,185 fully recovered. It now has 665 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 113,991,689 people, with over 2,529,421 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 89,544,725 patients of the 113.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.