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Confirmed infections reach 630,471, against 583,538 recoveries and 13,863 deaths, leaving 33,070 active cases
Pakistan on Monday reported 3,669 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 43,498 tests—a positivity ratio of 8.43 percent.
The Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday imposed a complete ban from March 23 to April 5 on incoming travel from 12 countries–Botswana, Brazil, Columbia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia—in a bid to curb the spread of mutated strains of the novel coronavirus. Travel from the U.K., which is believed to be directly responsible for the current strain that is sweeping the country, has not been banned.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 61,177, 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 – 630,471 (Tests: 9,817,491)
Punjab – 199,040
Sindh – 263,290
Balochistan – 19,342
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 80,037
Islamabad – 52,086
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,972
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 11,704
Deaths – 13,863
Recoveries – 583,538
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Monday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 630,471. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 20 to 13,863. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,686 to 583,538, or 92.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 33,070 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,423 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Monday, authorities reported 8 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,982. The province now has 199,040 confirmed cases; it reported 1,863 new infections after conducting 17,298 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.77 percent. There were 999 new recoveries recorded, leaving 177,698 fully recovered, and 15,360 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 263,290; it reported 232 new infections on Monday after conducting 8,975 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.58 percent. The province reported no new deaths, maintaining toll at 4,479, while its recoveries rose by 146 to 253,730. Overall, the province now has 5,081 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 792 new infections after conducting 8,152 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.71 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 80,037. It recorded 7 new deaths, raising toll to 2,215, while its recoveries have risen by 211 to 72,322. There are currently 5,500 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Monday raised its confirmed cases to 19,342 with 15 new infections after conducting 505 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.97 percent. There was no deaths and 16 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 203 fatalities and 18,941 fully recovered. There are now 198 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Monday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 672 to 52,086 after conducting 7,308 tests; a positivity ratio of 9.19 percent. There were 2 deaths and 255 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 545 casualties; 45,636 recovered; and 5,905 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported no new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday after conducting 324 tests; it now has 4,972 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,856 fully recovered people. There are currently 13 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 95 to 11,704 after conducting 936 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.14 percent. There were 3 deaths and 59 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 336 fatalities and 10,355 fully recovered. It now has 1,013 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 123,859,482 people, with over 2,727,680 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 99,784,511 patients of the 123.9 million+ infected have recovered thus far.