ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Thursday reported 111 Covid-19 deaths and 2,256 new cases with a positivity rate of 6.07 across the country.
The nationwide death toll rose to 9,668. Out of 111 fatalities in the last 24 hours, 61 were on ventilators.
The authorities conducted 37,173 Covid-19 tests across the country on the other day, including 11,643 in Sindh, 15,486 in Punjab, 4,124 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 4,683 in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 443 in Balochistan, 389 in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 405 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, 9,668 deaths have been recorded in Pakistan. Punjab is top with 3,783 deaths of which 51 were reported on the other day followed by Sindh with 3,419 deaths of which 40 died during past 24 hours, KP with 1,577 deaths is third of which 14 died the other day, Islamabad 398 Covid-19 deaths is on fourth position, the AJK with 211 deaths is ranked fifth, Balochistan sixth with 181 deaths, and GB with 99 deaths is at 7th position.
No Covid-19 affected person was on ventilator in the AJK, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), while 329 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in Pakistan.
The number of active cases has dropped to 38,268 with the nationwide recoveries rising to 417,134, which is over 86 percent of the total infections.
Since the pandemic outbreak, Punjab has reported 133,874 cases, Sindh 207,407 cases, KP 56,160 cases, Islamabad 36,721, Balochistan 18,005, the AJK 8,065, and G-B 4,838.
With the start of the second wave of the Covid-19 which has become more deadly as compared with the first one, the federal government on December 9, has imposed various restrictions across the country to contain the virus.
The government has also warned if the public ignored the Covid-19 SOPs, it would bring more restriction with shutting down of more sectors.
The government has repeatedly stated that there was a rapid increase in infections during the second wave as the public is less serious than it was during the first wave.
The federal government has made face masks mandatory in public spaces, limited large public gatherings to 300, banned indoor weddings, closed shrines, cinemas, and theatres, and instructed public and private offices to adopt a work-from-home policy and a 50 percent occupancy.
The federal government has also announced that educational institutes will remain closed from November 26 to January 10.
The students are advised to study at home or get weekly homework till the start of winter vacations starting from today.
The schools will reopen on January 11, which is subject to Covid-19 situation then. All examinations have been postponed except admission and recruitment tests.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020