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Confirmed infections of COVID-19 reach 1,353,479, against 1,266,479 recoveries and 29,065 deaths, leaving 57,935 active cases
Pakistan on Friday reported 7,678 new infections of COVID-19 after conducting 59,343 tests—a positivity ratio of 12.9 percent.
The U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool on Thursday announced that generic drug manufacturers would be able to a more affordable version of Merck’s anti-COVID pill for 105 of the world’s poorer nations under a deal it has inked with 27 manufacturers. The oral antiviral medicine, molnupiravir, would be provided at affordable rates for low- and-middle-income countries, including Pakistan, India, South Africa, and Vietnam. Antivirals like molnupiravir work by decreasing the ability of a virus to replicate, thereby slowing down the disease; it is taken within five days of symptom onset has shown to reduce COVID hospitalizations and deaths by 30% among at-risk people.
Confirmed Cases, Total – 1,353,479 (Tests: 24,415,716)
Punjab – 458,879
Sindh – 516,874
Balochistan – 33,812
Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa – 183,403
Islamabad – 115,047
Gilgit-Baltistan – 10,467
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 34,997
Deaths – 29,065
Recoveries – 1,266,479
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Friday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 1,353,479. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 23 to 29,065. At the same time, recoveries increased by 814 to 1,266,479, or 93.6 percent of total infections. There are currently 57,935 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 961 of them require critical care.
Punjab
On Friday, authorities reported 3 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 13,096. The province now has 458,879 confirmed cases; it reported 1,887 new infections after administering 20,689 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.12 percent. There were 312 new recoveries recorded, leaving 431,669 fully recovered, and 14,114 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 516,874; it reported 3,828 new infections on Friday after conducting 17,586 tests, a positivity ratio of 21.77 percent. The province reported 17 deaths and 332 recoveries, leaving 7,727 deaths and 473,340 total recovered. Overall, the province now has 35,807 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The provincial government on Friday reported 453 new cases after administering 11,468 tests, a positivity ratio of 3.95 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 183,403. It recorded 1 new death and 45 recoveries, raising toll to 5,968 and recoveries to 175,602. There are currently 1,833 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Friday raised its total confirmed cases to 33,812, reporting 32 new infections after conducting 551 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.81 percent. There were no deaths and 1 recovery reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 367 fatalities and 33,287 fully recovered. There are now 158 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Friday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases to 115,047, reporting 1,359 new cases after conducting 7,187 tests, a positivity ratio of 18.91 percent. There were 2 deaths and 119 recoveries recorded in the past 24 hours, leaving 971 casualties; 108,372 recovered; and 5,704 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 6 new cases of coronavirus on Friday after conducting 365 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.64 percent; it currently has 10,467 confirmed cases. There were no deaths or recoveries reported in the past 24 hours, leaving 187 fatalities; 10,243 fully recovered people; and 37 active cases of COVID-19.
Pakistan-administered Kashmir has reported 113 new cases of COVID-19 after administering 1,497 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.5 percent, raising confirmed cases to 34,997. There were no deaths and 5 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 749 fatalities and 33,966 fully recovered. It now has 282 active cases of COVID-19.
Across the world
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 343,212,450 people, with over 5,593,336 reported deaths. The globe is in the midst of yet another COVID-19 surge, as the highly infectious Omicron variant that was originally identified in South Africa sweeps across nations. While the new variant has been deemed less deadly than earlier iterations of the coronavirus, health experts have stressed that even a “mild” case can prove debilitating and urged people to exercise caution, wear masks, and avoid large gatherings. The World Health Organization continues to call 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, stressing that deploying vaccine boosters for the already vaccinated does not help counter the mutation of new variants in populations that have yet to be inoculated. Overall, around 276,383,019 patients of the 343.2 million+ infected have recovered thus far.