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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 1,294,379, against 1,255,396 recoveries and 28,918 deaths, leaving 10,065 active cases
Pakistan on Wednesday reported 348 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 39,739 tests—a positivity ratio of 0.87 percent.
Health officials in Pakistan have warned that the country might face a fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic around February 2022, as major cities nationwide have already started to report cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Thus far, said the officials, 75 cases of the variant of concern had been detected in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. If the variant follows the level of spread reported from Europe and the U.S., they added, a significant rise in COVID-19 cases is feared in the next two weeks.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 1,294,379 (Tests: 23,273,887)
Punjab – 444,752
Sindh – 481,096
Balochistan – 33,626
Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa – 181,285
Islamabad – 108,534
Gilgit-Baltistan – 10,429
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 34,657
Deaths – 28,918
Recoveries – 1,255,396
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Wednesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 1,294,379. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 6 to 28,918. At the same time, recoveries increased by 192 to 1,255,396, or 97 percent of total infections. There are currently 10,065 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 636 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Wednesday, authorities reported no deaths due to the coronavirus, retaining total casualties at 13,066. The province now has 444,752 confirmed cases; it reported 82 new infections after administering 17,093 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.48 percent. There were 33 new recoveries recorded, leaving 429,079 fully recovered, and 2,607 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 481,096; it reported 195 new infections on Wednesday after conducting 7,795 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.5 percent. The province reported 3 deaths and 69 recoveries, raising toll to 7,666 and total recovered to 466,939. Overall, the province now has 6,491 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Wednesday reported 38 new cases after administering 9,003 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.42 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 181,285. It recorded 2 new deaths and 48 recoveries, raising toll to 5,924 and recoveries to 174,818. There are currently 543 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Wednesday increased its total confirmed cases to 33,626, reporting 1 new infection after conducting 343 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.29 percent. There were no deaths and 2 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 363 fatalities and 33,177 fully recovered. There are now 86 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Wednesday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases to 108,534, reporting 32 new cases after conducting 4,471 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.72 percent. There was 1 death and 35 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 967 casualties; 107,267 recovered; and 300 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday after conducting 553 tests; it currently has 10,429 confirmed cases. There were no deaths and 2 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 186 fatalities; 10,241 fully recovered people; and 2 active cases of COVID-19.
Pakistan-administered Kashmir has reported no new cases of COVID-19 after administering 481 tests, retaining confirmed cases at 34,657. There were no deaths and 3 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 746 fatalities and 33,875 fully recovered. It now has 36 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 283,220,829 people, with over 5,431,040 reported deaths. After having passed through multiple waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are struggling to counter mutated variants, or have introduced vaccination boosters to maintain normalcy. There are mounting calls, especially from the World Health Organization, for “vaccine equality,” i.e. for developed nations to stop hoarding vaccines in excess of their requirements and to share them with the developing world to help prevent the mutation of new variants. Overall, around 251,831,564 patients of the 283.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.