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Confirmed infections reach 645,356, against 591,145 recoveries and 14,091 deaths, leaving 40,120 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 4,368 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,418 tests—a positivity ratio of 10.3 percent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday conveyed his best wishes to Prime Minister Imran Khan—who committed violations of home isolation guidelines issued by his own government—and hoped for his early recovery from COVID-19. “President Xi Jinping sent a letter to Hon. P.M. Imran Khan and wished him a speedy recovery,” Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong posted on Twitter. “President Xi also stressed that China would always stand firmly with Pakistan and join hands to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
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 – 645,356 (Tests: 9,976,791)
Punjab – 207,765
Sindh – 264,062
Balochistan – 19,427
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 82,677
Islamabad – 54,347
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,983
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 12,095
Deaths – 14,091
Recoveries – 591,145
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 645,356. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 63 to 14,091. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,170 to 591,145, or 91.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 40,120 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 2,758 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 43 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,142. The province now has 207,765 confirmed cases; it reported 2,451 new infections after conducting 17,315 tests, a positivity ratio of 14.15 percent. There were 1,456 new recoveries recorded, leaving 181,351 fully recovered, and 20,272 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 264,062; it reported 247 new infections on Friday after conducting 8,506 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.9 percent. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 4,486, while its recoveries rose by 152 to 255,399. Overall, the province now has 4,177 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 890 new infections after conducting 8,214 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.83 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 82,677. It recorded 14 new deaths, raising toll to 2,260, while its recoveries have risen by 310 to 73,481. There are currently 6,936 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its confirmed cases to 19,427 with 32 new infections after conducting 699 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.6 percent. There were no deaths and 17 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 205 fatalities and 19,003 fully recovered. There are now 219 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 663 to 54,347 after conducting 6,733 tests; a positivity ratio of 9.85 percent. There was 1 death and 171 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 555 casualties; 46,478 recovered; and 7,314 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 6 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday after conducting 314 tests; it now has 4,983 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,858 fully recovered people. There are currently 22 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 79 to 12,095 after conducting 637 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.4 percent. There was 1 death and 64 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 340 fatalities and 10,575 fully recovered. It now has 1,180 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 126,057,757 people, with over 2,767,283 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 101,719,512 patients of the 126 million+ infected have recovered thus far.