Covid-19 kills another 70 Pakistanis, infects 3,239 in 24 hours

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The positivity rate took a plunge as another 70 people breathed their last and 3,239 were infected by coronavirus throughout Pakistan during the last 24 hours (Thursday), showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Friday morning.

As per the NCOC figures, after the addition of 70 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 24,780 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,116,886 after adding the fresh 3,239 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Thursday), a total of 51,982 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 6.23 percent.

During the last 24 hours (Thursday), as many as 3,027 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,002,430. As of Friday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 89,673.

As many as 417,439 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 377,208 in Punjab, 155,153 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 95,491 in Islamabad, 31,755 in Balochistan, 30,314 in Azad Kashmir and 9,526 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 11,479 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 6,556 in Sindh, 4,730 in KP, 842 in Islamabad, 672 in Azad Kashmir, 335 in Balochistan and 169 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Global Developments

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– Booster for Biden –

US President Joe Biden says he and his wife Jill will both be getting a Covid vaccine booster shot, with the extra dose becoming available to all US adults from next month.

– US jobs figures –

New applications for US unemployment benefit drop to the lowest level since the pandemic began, in what Biden says underlines the “historic nature of our economic recovery”.

– Unmasked Ashura pilgrims –

Masks are almost nowhere to be seen as six million pilgrims throng the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala for the Shiite commemoration of Ashura, ignoring Covid fears.

– Iran deaths top 100,000 –

The official death toll in the Islamic republic has topped 100,000, the health ministry says, though officials have previously admitted the real figure is probably much higher.

– Catalonia curfew struck down –

A Spanish court orders that the night-time curfew imposed on the region of Catalonia, including its capital Barcelona, last month is no longer justified in most areas due to falling infection rates.

– EU widens list –

The European Union will recognise vaccine certificates from Turkey, Ukraine and North Macedonia from Friday, opening the way to easier travel for their residents, the European Commission says.

– Malaysian GP cancelled –

The Malaysian MotoGP scheduled for October is cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions with the Italian circuit at Misano stepping in to replace it.

– Nearly 4.4 million dead –

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,392,364 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 624,253 deaths, followed by Brazil with 571,662, India with 433,049, Mexico 250,469 and Peru 197,659.