Active coronavirus cases in Pakistan jump to over 83,000 as fourth wave continues

Pakistan's active number of coronavirus cases jumped to 83,298, highest in over three months, after the country reported another 4,040 positive infections during the last 24 hours.

Pakistan has been battling a surge in Covid cases for the past few weeks, driving up its vaccination pace and imposing stricter restrictions as the fourth wave continues in the country.

During the first wave, the active number of cases rose to as high as 108,642 on July 1, 2020. During the second wave, the active number of Covid-19 cases was recorded at 49,780 on December 1, 2020. This year, on April 30, during the third wave, Pakistan recorded 90,553 active cases.

However, from June 29, the active number of cases has jumped from 30,000 to over 80,000, with the added worry of the Delta strain in the ongoing fourth wave.

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The country's positivity ratio came down to below 8% for the first time in nearly a week. During the last 24 hours, the positivity ratio stood at 7.54%. Overall, there are 3,805 critical cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the virus claimed 53 more lives, taking the total number of fatalities to 23,918. Additionally, 2,765 people recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 964,404.

Overall, Sindh province remained the most affected region with 400,400 infections, followed by Punjab (364,680). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains third on the list with 148,619 cases. Islamabad has recorded 90,660 cases, Balochistan 31,177, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 27,288 and Gilgit Baltistan has reported 8,796 new infections so far.

On Sunday, the Sindh government decided to ease the Covid-19 restrictions it had imposed on July 31. According to a notification issued from the provincial home department, the lockdown was lifted with ease in restrictions till August 31.

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Businesses have been allowed to open till 8:00 pm with Friday and Sunday as safe days. However, milk shops, pharmacies, petrol pumps will remain open round the clock.

All types of indoor gatherings have been banned in the province, while outdoor gatherings have been allowed with participants not exceeding the limit of 300 people.

The district administrations has been empowered to impose a smart lockdown in their areas in case of a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The ease in restrictions comes as Pakistan looks to vaccinate more of its population, extending the scope to those who are between 16 to 18 years of age as well.