ISLAMABAD: The number of nationwide coronavirus cases Tuesday crossed 400,000-mark, reaching 401,782. The pandemic has so far caused 8,122 deaths, the latest Covid-19 related data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and the provincial health authorities revealed.
The NCOC meeting in the morning session said that within past 24 hours 67 people lost their lives owing to coronavirus and 2,458 new infections were also reported. According to the NCOC, 67 deaths in a single day were reported on November 30 in Pakistan, which are the highest in five months.
So far, Sindh has reported 175,622 cases, Punjab 119,578, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 47,370, Balochistan 17,187, the Islamabad Capital Territory 30,406, Gilgit-Baltistan 4,658, and AJK 6,982.
According to official data, out of 8,122 Covid-19 deaths, Punjab has the highest victims i.e. 3,036, followed by Sindh with 2,935 deaths, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,369, Islamabad Capital Territory 318, AJK 173, Balochistan 167, and Gilgit-Baltistan 97 deaths.
The data issued by the NCOC on Tuesday showed that the virus claimed 67 lives in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 8,091, which reached 8,122 as Sindh reported 27 deaths, and the AJK reported four additional deaths. The country's fatality rate stands at two percent which is lower than the global mortality rate of 2.3 percent.
After the detection of new coronavirus cases in Sindh and the AJK, the total active cases in the country have crossed 50,000 marks, and reached 50,446, out of which 2,165 are critically ill, and 282 are on ventilators. At least 344,286 persons have recovered from the virus.
The number of new cases began trending higher during the last six weeks, with health experts and authorities warning that the second wave may hit harder than the first, if SOPs are not followed.
Since the pandemic reached Pakistan earlier this year, a total of 5,549,779 Covid-19 tests have been conducted across the country. The historical case positivity rate stands at 7.2 percent, while today's rate is 6.0 percent. The Azad Jammu and Kashmir has the highest positivity rate at 14.5 percent, Sindh is second with 10.1 percent, and Balochistan third with 9.4 percent. Islamabad reported 4.3 percent, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 3.8 percent, Punjab 3.5 percent, and Gilgit-Baltistan 2.6 percent. In cities, the highest case positivity rate was observed in Mirpur with 20.62 percent, followed by Peshawar at 19.58 percent, and Hyderabad at 19.03 percent. Karachi recorded 13.9 percent, Abbottabad 11.21 percent, Multan 10.66 percent, and Rawalpindi 9.27 percent.
According to the NCOC data, nearly 100 healthcare workers have also died from COVID-19 in Pakistan to date, as concerns once again grow on lack of personal protective equipment for those on the frontlines of the pandemic's second wave in the country. The NCOC tally includes doctors, nurses, and medics, who put their lives at risk to care for others, since the first case of the deadly virus was reported in Pakistan, in late February.
Of the 100 who died during the pandemic, 71 were doctors, 26 paramedics, two nurses and one a medical student, according to the official figures. At least 10,314 healthcare professionals have been infected majority in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with a figure of 2,638, followed by 2,463 in Sindh, and 2,534 in Punjab.
Following recommendations by the NCOC, the government has imposed following restrictions across the country to prevent the spread of the virus during its second wave: Mandatory face masks in public spaces, limited large public gatherings up to 300, banned indoor weddings, closed shrines, cinemas, and theatres, and instructed public and private offices to adopt work-from-home policy, and 50 percent occupancy.
Moreover, the government also announced that educational institutes will remain closed from November 26 to January 10. All examinations have been postponed except admission and recruitment tests.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
Comments
Comments are closed.