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Confirmed infections reach 640,988, against 588,975 recoveries and 14,028 deaths, leaving 37,985 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 3,946 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 38,858 tests—a positivity ratio of 10.15 percent.
Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday announced that public and private educational institutions in districts with high incidence of the novel coronavirus would remain closed until April 11 in a bid to curb the spread of the pandemic. Following a meeting of the National Command and Operation Center that was attended by the educational ministers of all federating units, he said that areas with low positivity would be allowed to return to normal classes, adding that the provincial authorities would determine which areas to implement the new measures in.
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 – 640,988 (Tests: 9,934,373)
Punjab – 205,314
Sindh – 263,815
Balochistan – 19,395
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 81,787
Islamabad – 53,684
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,977
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 12,016
Deaths – 14,028
Recoveries – 588,975
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 640,988. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 63 to 14,028. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,747 to 588,975, or 91.9 percent of total infections. There are currently 37,985 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,587 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 51 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,099. The province now has 205,314 confirmed cases; it reported 2,571 new infections after conducting 17,153 tests, a positivity ratio of 14.9 percent. There were 953 new recoveries recorded, leaving 179,895 fully recovered, and 19,320 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 263,815; it reported 151 new infections on Thursday after conducting 8,000 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.88 percent. The province reported no new deaths, sustaining toll at 4,482, while its recoveries rose by 1,266 to 255,247. Overall, the province now has 4,086 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 583 new infections after conducting 6,675 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.73 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 81,787. It recorded 8 new deaths, raising toll to 2,246, while its recoveries have risen by 223 to 73,171. There are currently 6,370 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 19,395 with 21 new infections after conducting 529 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.97 percent. There were 2 deaths and 11 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 205 fatalities and 18,986 fully recovered. There are now 204 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 548 to 53,684 after conducting 5,362 tests; a positivity ratio of 10.22 percent. There were 2 deaths and 240 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 554 casualties; 46,307 recovered; and 6,823 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 2 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 312 tests; it now has 4,977 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 2 recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,858 fully recovered people. There are currently 16 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 70 to 12,016 after conducting 827 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.46 percent. There were no deaths and 52 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 339 fatalities and 10,511 fully recovered. It now has 1,166 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 125,429,834 people, with over 2,756,742 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 101,293,629 patients of the 125.4 million+ infected have recovered thus far.