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Confirmed cases rise to 346,476 against 319,431 recoveries and 7,000 deaths, leaving 20,045 active cases
Pakistan on Tuesday reported 1,637 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 31,904 tests—a positivity ratio of 5.13 percent.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Monday said around 4,136 “micro” lockdowns have been imposed across Pakistan to curb the spread of the pandemic. It noted that the positivity ratio was mounting in major cities once more, with many regions now exceeding 10 percent, including Multan, Gilgit, Muzafarabad, and Mirpur.
Pakistan’s health authorities have been sounding the alarm about a second wave of the virus for several weeks now, with health officials warning it appears deadlier than the first. Daily infections and deaths are once more on the rise, raising fears that disease is making a comeback as the public becomes more apathetic toward social distancing measures. Meanwhile, the country has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 73,572 and is currently testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to WHO, Pakistan’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which recent studies have suggested comprise the majority of infections in the country.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 346,476 (Tests: 4,741,507)
Punjab – 107,329
Sindh – 150,834
Balochistan – 16,152
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 40,843
Islamabad – 22,110
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,378
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 4,830
Deaths – 7,000
Recoveries – 319,431
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Tuesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 346,476. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 23 to 7,000. At the same time, recoveries increased by 550 to 319,431, or 92.2 percent of total infections. There are currently 20,045 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 1,052 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Tuesday, authorities reported 12 new deaths due to COVID-19, raising fatalities to 2,420. The province raised its confirmed cases to 107,329 with 407 new infections after conducting 9,130 tests. Meanwhile, its recoveries have increased by 13 to 97,651. There are now 7,258 active cases of the virus in the province.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh on Tuesday rose by 665 to 150,834 after conducting 12,343 tests. The province reported 3 new deaths, raising toll to 2,687, while its recoveries rose by 262 to 140,812. Overall, the province now has 7,335 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Tuesday reported 2 deaths, raising toll to 1,290. In the past 24 hours, its recoveries rose by 63 to 38,168 while its confirmed cases have increased by 186 to 40,843 after conducting 4,037 tests. The province currently has 1,385 active cases of coronavirus.
Balochistan
The province on Tuesday raised its confirmed cases to 16,152 with 46 new infections after conducting 528 tests. There were no new deaths and 21 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 154 fatalities and 15,721 recoveries. There are now 277 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Tuesday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 249 to 22,110 after conducting 5,065 tests. There were 3 deaths and 151 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 244 casualties; 19,271 recoveries; and 2,595 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday increased by 12 to 4,378 after conducting 370 tests. The region reported no new deaths and 8 recoveries, leaving 93 fatalities and 4,122 recoveries. There are currently 163 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, 431 tests were conducted, raising confirmed cases by 72 to 4,830. There were 32 recoveries and 3 deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 112 fatalities and 3,686 fully recovered. It now has 1,032 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 51,243,488 people, with over 1,269,319 reported deaths. Governments across the word halted flights, locked down towns and cities and urged people to stay at home at the peak of the virus’s spread, but have since eased restrictions to help shuttered economies rebound. With a second wave now emerging, countries with new spikes have started to re-impose movement restrictions. Overall, around 36,053,021 patients of the 51.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.