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Confirmed infections reach 600,198, against 568,065 recoveries and 13,430 deaths, leaving 18,703 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 2,701 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 41,133 tests—a positivity ratio of 6.57 percent.
Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid on Thursday told media that Pakistan was now facing the third wave of the novel coronavirus, and urged the public to continue adopting preventative measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The health official said that it appeared the majority of the new cases were of the ‘U.K. variant,’ and warned that the government could be forced to implement harsher restrictions if the positivity ratio continues to rise.
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 – 600,198 (Tests: 9,402,639)
Punjab – 182,576
Sindh – 260,661
Balochistan – 19,171
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 75,052
Islamabad – 46,963
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,959
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 10,816
Deaths – 13,430
Recoveries – 568,065
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 600,198. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 53 to 13,430. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,573 to 568,065, or 94.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 18,703 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,709 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 36 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,698. The province now has 182,576 confirmed cases; it reported 1,632 new infections after conducting 15,736 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.37 percent. There were 219 new recoveries recorded, leaving 168,186 fully recovered, and 8,692 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 260,661; it reported 255 new infections on Friday after conducting 10,377 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.46 percent. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 4,452, while its recoveries rose by 859 to 252,532. Overall, the province now has 3,677 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 330 new infections after conducting 7,281 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.53 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 75,052. It recorded 9 new deaths, raising toll to 2,138, while its recoveries have risen by 201 to 70,245. There are currently 2,669 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 19,171 with 14 new infections after conducting 468 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.99 percent. There were no deaths and 4 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 202 fatalities and 18,849 fully recovered. There are now 120 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 384 to 46,963 after conducting 6,224 tests; a positivity ratio of 6.17 percent. There were 4 deaths and 223 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 520 casualties; 43,658 recovered; and 2,785 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 331 tests; it now has 4,959 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,856 fully recovered people. There are currently 0 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 86 to 10,816 after conducting 716 tests, a positivity ratio of 12 percent. There was 1 death and 66 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 317 fatalities and 9,739 fully recovered. It now has 760 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 119,113,952 people, with over 2,641,762 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 94,724,892 patients of the 119.1 million+ infected have recovered thus far.