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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 1,240,425, against 1,162,177 recoveries and 27,597 deaths, leaving 50,651 active cases
Pakistan on Monday reported 1,757 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 48,732 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.6 percent.
Amidst growing calls—especially in the West—for booster shots of coronavirus vaccines to forestall the emergence of any new variants of concern, health experts in Pakistan have warned that “mixing and matching” vaccines could prove dangerous in the absence of any scientific studies proving their efficacy. Addressing an annual public health conference in Islamabad, University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Dr. Javed Akram said that people who got booster shots should get the same vaccine they had been initially administered, stressing that mixing-and-matching vaccines required greater study.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 1,240,425 (Tests: 19,240,519)
Punjab – 429,081
Sindh – 455,808
Balochistan – 32,861
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 173,210
Islamabad – 105,120
Gilgit-Baltistan – 10,299
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 34,046
Deaths – 27,597
Recoveries – 1,162,177
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Monday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 1,240,425. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 31 to 27,597. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,765 to 1,162,177, or 93.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 50,651 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 4,033 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Monday, authorities reported 6 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 12,559. The province now has 429,081 confirmed cases; it reported 687 new infections after administering 15,388 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.5 percent. There were 919 new recoveries recorded, leaving 397,009 fully recovered, and 19,513 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 455,808; it reported 743 new infections on Monday after conducting 16,050 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.6 percent. The province reported 15 deaths, raising toll to 7,350, while its recoveries rose by 321 to 425,941. Overall, the province now has 22,517 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Monday reported 187 new cases after administering 10,905 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.7 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 173,210. It recorded 9 new deaths and 305 recoveries, raising toll to 5,507 and recoveries to 162,528. There are currently 5,175 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Monday raised its confirmed cases to 32,861 with 12 new infections after administering 867 tests; a positivity ratio of 1.4 percent. There were no deaths and 38 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 346 fatalities and 32,313 fully recovered. There are now 202 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Monday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 99 to 105,120 after conducting 4,361 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.3 percent. There was 1 death and 106 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 916 casualties; 101,919 recovered; and 2,285 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday reported 3 new cases after administering 503 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.6 percent; it currently has 10,299 confirmed cases. There were no deaths and 2 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 184 fatalities; 9,914 fully recovered people; and 201 active cases of COVID-19.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 26 to 34,046 after conducting 658 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.9 percent. There were no deaths and 74 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 735 fatalities and 32,553 fully recovered. It now has 758 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 232,602,292 people, with over 4,761,948 reported deaths. After having passed through multiple waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are either in the midst of new waves driven by mutated variants, or have launched mass vaccination drives that are allowing them to reopen safely. There are mounting calls, including from the World Health Organization, for “vaccine equality,” i.e. for developed nations to stop hoarding vaccines in excess of their requirements and to share them with the developing world to help curb the spread of new mutated variants, especially the Delta variant that is now driving the bulk of confirmed infections globally. Overall, around 209,239,576 patients of the 232.6 million+ infected have recovered thus far.