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Confirmed infections climb to 448,522 against 396,591 recoveries and 9,080 deaths, leaving 42,851 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 2,545 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 40,090 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.35 percent.
Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Wednesday told a press conference that the government was working on procuring a vaccine, but cautioned against complacency. He said preventative measures would need to go along with the vaccine for “the near future” to ensure lives and livelihoods could be protected. He said the country had overcome the first wave of the pandemic by adopting SOPs, and urged the public to continue adopting them to protect everyone.
Despite a severe second wave of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 75,303, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistan’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies suggest comprise the majority of infections nationwide.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 448,522 (Tests: 6,176,889)
Punjab – 129,291
Sindh – 199,706
Balochistan – 17,838
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 53,609
Islamabad – 35,441
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,804
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 7,833
Deaths – 9,080
Recoveries – 396,591
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Wednesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 448,522. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 70 to 9,080. At the same time, recoveries increased by 7,993 to 396,591, or 88.4 percent of total infections. There are currently 42,851 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,505 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 39 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 3,491. The province now has 129,291 confirmed cases; it reported 618 new infections after conducting 16,458 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.75 percent. There were 171 new recoveries recorded, leaving 115,595 fully recovered, and 10,205 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 199,706; it reported 1,224 new infections on Thursday after conducting 11,495 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.65 percent. The province reported 15 new deaths, raising toll to 3,237, while its recoveries rose by 6,952 to 176,337. Overall, the province now has 20,132 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government has recorded 356 new infections after conducting 4,379 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.13 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 53,609. It recorded 13 new deaths, raising toll to 1,502, while its recoveries have risen by 377 to 47,272. There are currently 4,835 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 17,838 with 42 new infections after conducting 295 tests, a positivity ratio of 14.24 percent. There were no deaths and 47 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 176 fatalities and 17,235 fully recovered. There are now 427 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 238 to 35,441 after conducting 6,589 tests; a positivity ratio of 3.61 percent. There were 3 deaths and 354 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 381 casualties; 29,053 recovered; and 6,007 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday increased by 5 to 4,804 after conducting 328 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.52 percent. The region reported no deaths and 1 recovery, leaving 99 fatalities and 4,604 fully recovered people. There are currently 101 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 62 to 7,833 after conducting 546 tests, a positivity ratio of 11.35 percent. There were 91 recoveries and 1 death in the past 24 hours, leaving 194 fatalities and 6,495 fully recovered. It now has 1,144 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 74,534,155 people, with over 1,655,226 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now reeling from a second wave of the coronavirus, with many countries imposing fresh lockdowns or targeted closures in a bid to curb its spread ahead of mass distribution of vaccines. Overall, around 52,372,534 patients of the 74.5 million+ infected have recovered thus far.