Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 575,941, against 539,888 recoveries and 12,772 deaths, leaving 23,281 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 1,361 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 40,906 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.33 percent.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Wednesday announced that it was ending the majority of coronavirus restrictions in light of a consistent decrease in new incidents of the disease. According to a statement, it said that indoor events would be allowed to resume from March 15, while there would be an immediate halt to offices requiring 50 percent of their staff to work from home, as well as an end to time limits on commercial activities and amusement parks.
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 – 575,941 (Tests: 8,831,892)
Punjab – 169,474
Sindh – 257,089
Balochistan – 19,010
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 71,490
Islamabad – 43,901
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,955
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 10,022
Deaths – 12,772
Recoveries – 539,888
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 575,941. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 64 to 12,772. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,681 to 539,888, or 93.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 23,281 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,590 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 39 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,308. The province now has 169,474 confirmed cases; it reported 583 new infections after conducting 16,002 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.64 percent. There were 638 new recoveries recorded, leaving 157,459 fully recovered, and 6,707 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 257,089; it reported 348 new infections on Thursday after conducting 10,918 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.19 percent. The province reported 14 new deaths, raising toll to 4,315, while its recoveries rose by 619 to 240,676. Overall, the province now has 12,098 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 208 new infections after conducting 7,051 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.95 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 71,490. It recorded 8 new deaths, raising toll to 2,058, while its recoveries have risen by 261 to 67,448. There are currently 1,984 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 19,010 with 6 new infections after conducting 579 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.04 percent. There were no deaths and 16 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 199 fatalities and 18,732 fully recovered. There are now 79 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 148 to 43,901 after conducting 5,153 tests; a positivity ratio of 2.87 percent. There were no deaths and 101 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 494 casualties; 41,640 recovered; and 1,767 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 1 new case of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 361 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.28 percent; it now has 4,955 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 4 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,836 fully recovered people. There are currently 17 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 67 to 10,022 after conducting 842 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.96 percent. There were 3 deaths and 42 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 296 fatalities and 9,097 fully recovered. It now has 629 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 113,100,859 people, with over 2,508,925 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 88,722,537 patients of the 113.1 million+ infected have recovered thus far.