Courtesy PID
Confirmed cases rise to 528,891, against 482,771 recoveries and 11,204 deaths, leaving 34,916 active cases
Pakistan on Friday recorded 1,745 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 35,839 tests—a positivity ratio of 4.87 percent.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday announced that China would “gift” 500,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan, adding that this would be airlifted into the country by Jan. 31. In a nationally televised statement, he said that his Chinese counterpart had also expressed willingness to let Pakistan manufacture its own vaccine, but said this would be discussed further in a few months.
Despite a severe second wave of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 57,531, 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 – 528,891 (Tests: 7,561,977)
Punjab – 152,158
Sindh – 239,186
Balochistan – 18,696
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 64,651
Islamabad – 40,548
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,899
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 8,753
Deaths – 11,204
Recoveries – 482,771
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 528,891. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 47 to 11,204. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,075 to 482,771, or 91.3 percent of total infections. There are currently 34,916 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,362 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 22 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 4,523. The province now has 152,158 confirmed cases; it reported 555 new infections after conducting 15,304 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.63 percent. There were 753 new recoveries recorded, leaving 136,645 fully recovered, and 10,990 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 239,186; it reported 716 new infections on Friday after conducting 6,535 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.96 percent. The province reported 12 new deaths, raising toll to 3,855, while its recoveries rose by 775 to 216,920. Overall, the province now has 18,411 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 278 new infections after conducting 6,543 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.25 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 64,651. It recorded 12 new deaths, raising toll to 1,823, while its recoveries have risen by 335 to 59,613. There are currently 3,215 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 18,696 with 26 new infections after conducting 838 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.1 percent. There were no deaths and 44 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 192 fatalities and 18,205 fully recovered. There are now 299 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 118 to 40,548 after conducting 5,777 tests; a positivity ratio of 2.04 percent. There was 1 death and 136 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 461 casualties; 38,414 recovered; and 1,673 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 5 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 443 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.13 percent; it now has 4,899 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths or recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,765 fully recovered people. There are currently 32 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 47 to 8,753 after conducting 399 tests, a positivity ratio of 11.78 percent. There were no deaths and 32 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 248 fatalities and 8,209 fully recovered. It now has 296 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 98,089,877 people, with over 2,100,404 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now reeling from a second wave of the coronavirus, with many countries imposing fresh lockdowns or targeted closures in a bid to curb its spread ahead of mass distribution of vaccines. Overall, around 70,467,972 patients of the 98.1 million+ infected have recovered thus far.