Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 569,846, against 533,202 recoveries and 12,563 deaths, leaving 24,081 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 1,340 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,332 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.16 percent.
Manchester City Councilor Aftab Razaq was suspended by the British Labour Party this week after photos off him allegedly attending a wedding in Kharian city were shared on Facebook. Razaq has been accused of violating COVID-19 restrictions by flying to Pakistan for the wedding—under current rules, it is illegal to travel abroad for holidays or similar leisure purposes. In the photos posted on Facebook, Razaq is seen ignoring social distancing and not wearing a mask, despite Pakistan’s rules requiring the same in all public gatherings.
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 – 569,846 (Tests: 8,644,847)
Punjab – 166,777
Sindh – 255,340
Balochistan – 18,972
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 70,716
Islamabad – 43,282
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,951
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 9,718
Deaths – 12,563
Recoveries – 533,202
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 569,846. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 36 to 12,563. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,362 to 533,202, or 93.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 24,081 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,604 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 19 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,185. The province now has 166,777 confirmed cases; it reported 535 new infections after conducting 16,130 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.32 percent. There were 644 new recoveries recorded, leaving 154,568 fully recovered, and 7,024 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 255,430; it reported 391 new infections on Saturday after conducting 12,205 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.2 percent. The province reported 9 new deaths, raising toll to 4,276, while its recoveries rose by 468 to 238,498. Overall, the province now has 12,656 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 223 new infections after conducting 7,268 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.07 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 70,716. It recorded 7 new deaths, raising toll to 2,027, while its recoveries have risen by 133 to 66,524. There are currently 2,165 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 18,972 with 5 new infections after conducting 504 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.99 percent. There were no deaths and 14 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 199 fatalities and 18,689 fully recovered. There are now 84 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 137 to 43,282 after conducting 5,142 tests; a positivity ratio of 2.66 percent. There were no deaths and 64 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 488 casualties; 41,203 recovered; and 1,591 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 4 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday after conducting 570 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.70 percent; it now has 4,951 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 5 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,821 fully recovered people. There are currently 28 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 45 to 9,718 after conducting 513 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.77 percent. There was 1 death and 34 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 286 fatalities and 8,899 fully recovered. It now has 533 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 111,249,741 people, with over 2,463,661 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 86,132,469 patients of the 111.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.