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Confirmed infections reach 602,536, against 569,296 recoveries and 13,476 deaths, leaving 19,764 active cases
Pakistan on Saturday reported 2,338 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,499 tests—a positivity ratio of 5.5 percent.
Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Center, on Thursday told media that there was “no doubt” that a third wave of the pandemic had begun in Pakistan. “The phenomena driving it is the spread of the U.K. strain,” he said, noting that districts with the highest positivity ratio also had higher percentages of Pakistanis who had returned from Britain. Stressing that the new variant was deadlier, he urged the public to adopt preventative measures as a “very dangerous situation is developing.”
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 60,977, 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 – 602,536 (Tests: 9,445,138)
Punjab – 183,815
Sindh – 260,959
Balochistan – 19,188
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 75,357
Islamabad – 47,365
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,960
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 10,892
Deaths – 13,476
Recoveries – 569,296
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Saturday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 602,536. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 46 to 13,476. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,231 to 569,296, or 94.5 percent of total infections. There are currently 19,764 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,720 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Saturday, authorities reported 34 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,732. The province now has 183,815 confirmed cases; it reported 1,239 new infections after conducting 16,377 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.56 percent. There were 793 new recoveries recorded, leaving 168,979 fully recovered, and 9,104 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 260,959; it reported 298 new infections on Saturday after conducting 10,519 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.83 percent. The province reported 1 new death, raising toll to 4,453, while its recoveries rose by 93 to 252,625. Overall, the province now has 3,881 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 305 new infections after conducting 8,088 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.77 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 75,357. It recorded 9 new deaths, raising toll to 2,147, while its recoveries have risen by 115 to 70,360. There are currently 2,850 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Saturday raised its confirmed cases to 19,188 with 17 new infections after conducting 500 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.4 percent. There were no deaths and 11 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 202 fatalities and 18,860 fully recovered. There are now 126 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Saturday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 402 to 47,365 after conducting 6,105 tests; a positivity ratio of 6.58 percent. There were 2 deaths and 150 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 522 casualties; 43,808 recovered; and 3,035 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 1 new case of the novel coronavirus on Saturday after conducting 310 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.32 percent; it now has 4,960 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,856 fully recovered people. There is currently 1 active case of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 76 to 10,892 after conducting 600 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.67 percent. There were no deaths and 69 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 317 fatalities and 9,808 fully recovered. It now has 767 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 119,613,767 people, with over 2,651,728 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now slowly recovering from a second wave of the coronavirus, aided in part by the launch of vaccination campaigns. Overall, around 96,257,884 patients of the 119.6 million+ infected have recovered thus far.