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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 971,304, against 912,295 recoveries and 22,555 deaths, leaving 36,454 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 1,828 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 48,134 tests—a positivity ratio of 3.8 percent.
The British government has announced it would provide genomic sequencing support to Pakistan to help it fight new variants of the coronavirus. According to a press release issued by the British High Commission, the New Variant Assessment Platform program would allow Pakistan to utilize British expertise and support to quickly detect new, and potentially more dangerous, variants of COVID-19. “This shows the best of U.K.-Pakistan friendship and our commitment to back Pakistan in building back better from the impacts of COVID-19,” said British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 971,304 (Tests: 15,008,355)
Punjab – 347,793
Sindh – 345,269
Balochistan – 27,863
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 139,162
Islamabad – 83,513
Gilgit-Baltistan – 6,769
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 20,935
Deaths – 22,555
Recoveries – 912,295
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 971,304. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 35 to 22,555. At the same time, recoveries increased by 912 to 912,295, or 93.9 percent of total infections. There are currently 36,454 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,049 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 10 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 10,815. The province now has 347,793 confirmed cases; it reported 240 new infections after conducting 17,317 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.4 percent. There were 117 new recoveries recorded, leaving 328,554 fully recovered, and 8,424 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 345,269; it reported 1,046 new infections on Saturday after administering 15,391 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.8 percent. The province reported 17 deaths, raising toll to 5,583, while its recoveries rose by 579 to 316,860. Overall, the province now has 22,826 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 154 new infections after conducting 10,772 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.43 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 139,162. It recorded 5 new deaths and 57 recoveries, raising toll to 4,353 and recoveries to 133,159. There are currently 1,650 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday sustained its confirmed cases at 27,863 with 82 new infections after conducting 977 tests. There were no deaths and 87 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 317 fatalities and 26,751 fully recovered. There are now 795 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 113 to 83,513 after conducting 1,963 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.7 percent. There were no deaths and 37 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 782 casualties; 81,247 recovered; and 1,484 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday recorded 69 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 580 tests, a positivity ratio of 11.9 percent; it now has 6,769 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 111 fatalities and 6,099 fully recovered people. There are currently 559 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 124 to 20,935 after administering 1,134 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.9 percent. There were 3 deaths and 35 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 594 fatalities and 19,625 fully recovered. It now has 716 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 186,849,013 people, with over 4,035,354 reported deaths. After having passed through two waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are either in the midst of a third wave 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 170,902,970 patients of the 186.8 million+ infected have recovered thus far.