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Confirmed infections rise to 321,877 against 305,835 recoveries and 6,621 deaths, leaving 9,421 active cases
Pakistan on Friday recorded 659 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 33,901 tests—a positivity ratio of 1.94 percent.
Planning Minister Asad Umar on Thursday warned that the nationwide positivity ratio of COVID-19 was once more on the rise and urged the public to exercise caution and wear face masks and maintain social distancing to curb its spread. In a posting on Twitter, he stressed that if cases continued to spiral, the government might have to “take restrictive actions, which have negative effects on peoples’ livelihoods.”
Pakistan is currently in the midst of what health authorities have warned could be a second wave of the virus. Daily infections and deaths are once more on the rise, raising fears that disease is making a comeback as the public becomes more apathetic toward social distancing measures. Meanwhile, the country has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 72,232 and is currently testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. According to WHO, Pakistan’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which recent studies have suggested comprise the majority of infections in the country.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 321,877 (Tests: 4,009,497)
Punjab – 101,367
Sindh – 141,249
Balochistan – 15,621
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 38,521
Islamabad – 17,781
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,016
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 3,322
Deaths – 6,621
Recoveries – 305,835
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 321,877. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 7 to 6,621. At the same time, recoveries increased by 440 to 305,835, or 95 percent of total infections. There are currently 9,421 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC reporting 529 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 2 new deaths due to COVID-19, raising fatalities to 2,279. The province raised its confirmed cases to 101,367 with 130 new infections. Meanwhile, its recoveries have increased by 79 to 97,068. There are now 2,020 active cases of the virus in the province.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh on Friday rose by 252 to 141,249. The province reported 2 deaths, raising toll to 2,568, while its recoveries rose by 193 to 133,844. Overall, the province now has 4,837 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Friday reported 1 new death, raising toll to 1,265. In the past 24 hours, its recoveries rose by 59 to 36,816 while its confirmed cases have increased by 57 to 38,521. The province currently has 440 active cases of coronavirus.
Balochistan
Provincial Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19. The province has raised its confirmed cases to 15,621 with 22 new infections. There were no new deaths and 22 recoveries in the past 24 hours, sustaining fatalities at 146 and raising recoveries to 15,290. There are now 185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 100 to 17,781. There were 2 new deaths and 64 recoveries in the past 24 hours, raising casualties to 193 and recoveries to 16,550, leaving 1,038 active cases.
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday increased by 34 to 4,016. The region reported no new deaths, sustaining toll at 90, and raised recoveries by 23 to 3,677. There are currently 249 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases have increased by 64 to 3,322. There were no recoveries or deaths in the past 24 hours, leaving 80 fatalities and 2,590 fully recovered. It now has 652 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 39,175,466 people, with over 1,102,941 reported deaths. Governments across the word halted flights, locked down towns and cities and urged people to stay at home at the peak of the virus’s spread, but have since eased restrictions to help shuttered economies rebound. Overall, around 29,378,743 patients of the 39.1 million+ infected have recovered thus far, with health experts warning of an impending second wave as winter approaches.