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Confirmed infections reach 705,517, against 623,399 recoveries and 15,124 deaths, leaving 66,994 active cases
Pakistan on Thursday reported 5,329 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 49,816 tests—a positivity ratio of 10.7 percent.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani has demanded a ban on inter-provincial transport—via air, road and rail—in a bid to prevent the U.K. variant spreading primarily through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad and Punjab from spreading to the rest of the country. In a press conference, he warned that while Sindh had a low positivity right now, the situation could rapidly deteriorate if infected individuals commute there. The government has already announced a two-day ban on interprovincial transport by road every week, but authorities in Sindh feel this is insufficient to make an impact.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 61,577, 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 – 705,517 (Tests: 10,584,877)
Punjab – 240,584
Sindh – 267,612
Balochistan – 19,999
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 94,880
Islamabad – 63,499
Gilgit-Baltistan – 5,070
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 13,873
Deaths – 15,124
Recoveries – 623,399
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Thursday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 705,517. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 98 to 15,124. At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,610 to 623,399, or 88.4 percent of total infections. There are currently 66,994 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 3,942 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Thursday, authorities reported 62 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,793. The province now has 240,584 confirmed cases; it reported 2,990 new infections after conducting 21,325 tests, a positivity ratio of 14 percent. There were 912 new recoveries recorded, leaving 198,753 fully recovered, and 35,038 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 267,612; it reported 374 new infections on Thursday after conducting 9,411 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.97 percent. The province reported 4 new deaths, raising toll to 4,520, while its recoveries rose by 163 to 257,176. Overall, the province now has 5,916 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 1,018 new infections after conducting 8,292 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.28 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 94,880. It recorded 23 new deaths and 945 recoveries, raising toll to 2,519 and recoveries to 81,293. There are currently 11,068 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Thursday raised its confirmed cases to 19,999 with 57 new infections after conducting 816 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.98 percent. There were no deaths and 27 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 212 fatalities and 19,249 fully recovered. There are now 538 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Thursday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 724 to 63,499 after conducting 8,433 tests; a positivity ratio of 8.58 percent. There were 3 deaths and 466 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 591 casualties; 50,530 recovered; and 12,378 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 6 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday after conducting 474 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.26 percent; it now has 5,070 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 4 recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,896 fully recovered people. There are currently 71 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 160 to 13,873 after conducting 1,065 tests, a positivity ratio of 15 percent. There were 6 deaths and 93 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 386 fatalities and 11,502 fully recovered. It now has 1,985 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 133,695,421 people, with over 2,901,124 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 107,825,976 patients of the 133.7 million+ infected have recovered thus far.