Courtesy PID
Confirmed infections reach 564,824, against 527,061 recoveries and 12,380 deaths, leaving 25,383 active cases
Pakistan on Tuesday reported 958 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 31,905 tests—a positivity ratio of 3 percent.
Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Monday announced that the government had launched the registration of citizens over-65 for coronavirus vaccinations, adding that the inoculations would begin in March. In a posting on Twitter, he urged qualified elderly to send an SMS with their CNIC from any mobile phone to 1166 and get registered. The government, he said, would inform each registered individual of their designated vaccination center and date of appointment once the vaccine had arrived in Pakistan.
Despite passing through two waves of COVID-19, Pakistan has yet to fully utilize its claimed testing capacity of 59,981, 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 – 564,824 (Tests: 8,498,022)
Punjab – 164,696
Sindh – 254,016
Balochistan – 18,946
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 69,885
Islamabad – 42,808
Gilgit-Baltistan – 4,941
Pakistan-administered Kashmir – 9,532
Deaths – 12,380
Recoveries – 527,061
In the 24 hours preceding 8 a.m., Tuesday, Pakistan’s confirmed cases climbed to 564,824. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 47 to 12,380. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,064 to 527,061, or 93.3 percent of total infections. There are currently 25,383 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with the NCOC saying 1,648 of them are in critical condition.
Punjab
On Tuesday, authorities reported 33 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 5,084. The province now has 164,696 confirmed cases; it reported 428 new infections after conducting 10,445 tests, a positivity ratio of 4.1 percent. There were 429 new recoveries recorded, leaving 152,325 fully recovered, and 7,287 active cases of the virus.
Sindh
Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 254,016; it reported 254 new infections on Tuesday after conducting 10,609 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.39 percent. The province reported 7 new deaths, raising toll to 4,226, while its recoveries rose by 384 to 235,854. Overall, the province now has 13,936 active cases of the novel coronavirus.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
In the past 24 hours, the provincial government recorded 106 new infections after conducting 5,775 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.83 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 69,885. It recorded 5 new deaths, raising toll to 2,000, while its recoveries have risen by 148 to 65,794. There are currently 2,091 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Balochistan
The province on Tuesday raised its confirmed cases to 18,946 with 4 new infections after conducting 437 tests, a positivity ratio of 0.92 percent. There were no deaths and 3 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 199 fatalities and 18,658 fully recovered. There are now 89 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Federal Areas
Islamabad on Tuesday raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 120 to 42,808 after conducting 3,845 tests; a positivity ratio of 3.12 percent. There were no deaths and 64 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 486 casualties; 40,864 recovered; and 1,458 active cases.
Gilgit-Baltistan reported 1 new case of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday after conducting 339 tests; it now has 4,941 confirmed cases. The region reported no deaths and 3 recoveries, leaving 102 fatalities and 4,808 fully recovered people. There are currently 31 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 45 to 9,532 after conducting 455 tests, a positivity ratio of 9.89 percent. There were 2 deaths and 33 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 283 fatalities and 8,758 fully recovered. It now has 491 active cases of COVID-19.
Global situation
Globally, the virus has now infected more than 109,676,360 people, with over 2,418,768 reported deaths. After a devastating first wave, the world is now reeling from a second wave of the coronavirus, with many countries imposing fresh lockdowns or targeted closures in a bid to curb its spread ahead of mass distribution of vaccines. Overall, around 84,215,251 patients of the 109.7 million+ infected have recovered thus far.