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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 1,020,324, against 937,354 recoveries and 23,209 deaths, leaving 59,761 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 4,497 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 59,707 tests—a positivity ratio of 7.5 percent.
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz became the latest prominent politician to test positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday. In a statement, the party’s Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said she had quarantined herself after receiving the results. She also urged people to pray for the health of all COVID-19 patients, including Maryam.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 1,020,324 (Tests: 15,878,471)
Punjab – 354,904
Sindh – 374,434
Balochistan – 30,019
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 142,799
Islamabad – 86,602
Gilgit-Baltistan – 7,935
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 23,631
Deaths – 23,209
Recoveries – 937,354
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 1,020,324. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 76 to 23,209. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,612 to 937,354, or 91.9 percent of total infections. There are currently 59,761 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 3,084 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 17 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 10,995. The province now has 354,904 confirmed cases; it reported 592 new infections after conducting 17,667 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.3 percent. There were 271 new recoveries recorded, leaving 331,704 fully recovered, and 12,205 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
The Pakistan Medical Association on Wednesday urged the Sindh government to impose a 15-day lockdown in Karachi, warning that the city’s positivity ratio was alarming and needed urgent action. In a statement, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that of the 37,678 patients being treated for coronavirus, 36,292 were in home isolation; 1,341 at different hospitals; and 45 in isolation centers. He said the condition of 1,181 patients was critical, including 93 who had been shifted to ventilators.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 374,434; it reported 2,672 new infections on Thursday after administering 20,438 tests, a positivity ratio of 13.1 percent. The province reported 43 deaths, raising toll to 5,903, while its recoveries rose by 670 to 330,836. Overall, the province now has 37,695 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Thursday reported 399 new cases after conducting 11,686 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.4 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 142,799. It recorded 7 new deaths and 81 recoveries, raising toll to 4,435 and recoveries to 135,687. There are currently 2,677 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 30,019 with 158 new infections after conducting 3,393 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.6 percent. There were no deaths and 344 recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 326 fatalities and 28,463 fully recovered. There are now 1,230 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 376 to 86,602 after conducting 4,622 tests, a positivity ratio of 8.1 percent. There was 1 death and 144 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 797 casualties; 82,992 recovered; and 2,813 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday recorded 39 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 813 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.8 percent; it now has 7,935 confirmed cases. The region reported 6 deaths and 7 recoveries, leaving 133 fatalities and 7,016 fully recovered people. There are currently 786 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 261 to 23,631 after administering 1,088 tests, a positivity ratio of 23.98 percent. There were 2 deaths and 95 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 620 fatalities and 20,656 fully recovered. It now has 2,355 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 196,709,255 people, with over 4,203,682 reported deaths. After having passed through two waves of the pandemic, the world is divided between countries that are either in the midst of new waves driven by mutated variants, or have launched mass vaccination drives that are allowing them to reopen safely. There are mounting calls, including 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 curb the spread of new mutated variants, especially the Delta variant that is now driving the bulk of confirmed infections globally. Overall, around 178,121,406 patients of the 196.7 million+ infected have recovered thus far.