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Confirmed infections rise to 363,380 against 325,788 recoveries and 7,230 deaths, leaving 30,362 active cases
Pakistan on Wednesday reported 2,208 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 38,544 tests—a positivity ratio of 5.73 percent.
Declaring educational institutions a major source of coronavirus transmission, the World Health Organization has expressed concern about the government’s delay in deciding on whether to implement early and extended winter vacations to curb the spread of COVID-19. A WHO official told daily Dawn that educational institutions should be shut to decrease coronavirus incidence, as most infected children suffered few complications, but could easily spread the virus to people in their families and communities.
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 studies have suggested comprise the majority of infections in the country.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 363,380 (Tests: 5,018,483)
Punjab – 111,626
Sindh – 157,432
Balochistan – 16,529
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 42,815
Islamabad – 24,871
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,467
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 5,640
Deaths – 7,230
Recoveries – 325,788
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Wednesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 363,380. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 37 to 7,230. At the same time, recoveries increased by 954 to 325,788, or 89.7 percent of total infections. There are currently 30,362 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 1,551 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Wednesday, authorities reported 17 new deaths due to COVID-19, raising fatalities to 2,509. The province raised its confirmed cases to 111,626 with 579 new infections after conducting 15,003 tests. The province reported 35 new recoveries, leaving 97,824 fully recovered, and now has 11,293 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh on Wednesday rose by 904 to 157,432 after conducting 12,430 tests. The province reported 9 new deaths, raising toll to 2,760, while its recoveries rose by 400 to 143,652. Overall, the province now has 11,020 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Wednesday reported 3 deaths, raising toll to 1,318. In the past 24 hours, its recoveries rose by 209 to 39,319 while its confirmed cases have increased by 200 to 42,815 after conducting 3,473 tests. The province currently has 2,178 active cases of coronavirus.
Balochistan
The province on Wednesday raised its confirmed cases to 16,529 with 80 new infections after conducting 626 tests. There were no new deaths and 15 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 156 fatalities and 15,917 recoveries. There are now 456 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Wednesday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 427 to 24,871. There were 3 deaths and 210 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 263 casualties; 20,708 recovered; and 3,900 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday increased by 6 to 4,467 after conducting 297 tests. The region reported no new deaths and 14 recoveries, leaving 93 fatalities and 4,221 recovered. There are currently 153 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, 740 tests were conducted, raising confirmed cases by 102 to 5,640. There were 71 recoveries and 5 deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 131 fatalities and 4,147 fully recovered. It now has 1,362 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 55,943,085 people, with over 1,343,376 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 subsequently 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 38,963,134 patients of the 55.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.