Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections rise to 354,461 against 322,414 recoveries and 7,109 deaths, leaving 24,938 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 2,165 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 34,535 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.27 percent.
Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has claimed that there is no need to close educational institutions en masse in light of the recent surge in the coronavirus pandemic. Talking to a private TV channel on Friday, he said that there should be no winter break, as has been advised by the National Command and Operation Center, and that if there were a need for school closures, it should only apply to areas where the positivity ratio was consistently high.
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 – 354,461 (Tests: 4,881,640)
Punjab – 109,309
Sindh – 153,873
Balochistan – 16,328
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 41,723
Islamabad – 23,533
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,434
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 5,261
Deaths – 7,109
Recoveries – 322,414
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 354,461. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 17 to 7,109. At the same time, recoveries increased by 851 to 322,414, or 91 percent of total infections. There are currently 24,938 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 1,316 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 7 new deaths due to COVID-19, raising fatalities to 2,462. The province raised its confirmed cases to 109,309 with 487 new infections after conducting 12,006 tests. The province reported 39 new recoveries, leaving 97,731 fully recovered, and now has 9,116 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh on Saturday rose by 822 to 153,873 after conducting 10,641 tests. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 2,722, while its recoveries rose by 322 to 142,082. Overall, the province now has 9,069 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Saturday reported 2 deaths, raising toll to 1,305. In the past 24 hours, its recoveries rose by 168 to 38,694 while its confirmed cases have increased by 251 to 41,723 after conducting 3,736 tests. The province currently has 1,724 active cases of coronavirus.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 16,328 with 54 new infections after conducting 614 tests. There were no new deaths and 19 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 155 fatalities and 15,801 recoveries. There are now 372 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 411 to 23,533 after conducting 6,267 tests. There were 3 deaths and 228 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 253 casualties; 20,036 recovered; and 3,244 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday increased by 18 to 4,434 after conducting 312 tests. The region reported no new deaths and 5 recoveries, leaving 93 fatalities and 4,188 recovered. There are currently 153 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, 959 tests were conducted, raising confirmed cases by 122 to 5,261. There were 70 recoveries and 1 death in the past 24 hours, leaving 119 fatalities and 3,882 fully recovered. It now has 1,260 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 53,746,944 people, with over 1,309,408 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 37,523,973 patients of the 53.7 million+ infected have recovered thus far.