Pakistan records 493 coronavirus infections in last 24 hours

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: All the regions in Pakistan except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported no Covid-19 death during the last 24 hours. All the four fatalities recorded during the last day (Tuesday) were in KP, showing the latest wave of coronavirus pandemic is taking its last breaths in the country.

Pakistan has recorded 493 more coronavirus infections and four deaths during the last 24 hours (Tuesday), showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday morning.

As per the latest NCOC data, after the addition of four new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 30,317 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,520,120 after adding the fresh 493 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), 34,698 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 1.42 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 567.

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), as many as 1,003 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,472,291. As of Wednesday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 17,512.

As many as 572,555 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 504,045 in Punjab, 218,357 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 134,878 in Islamabad, 35,447 in Balochistan, 43,190 in Azad Kashmir and 11,648 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,540 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,091 in Sindh, 6,306 in KP, 1,021 in Islamabad, 790 in Azad Kashmir, 378 in Balochistan and 191 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Global Developments

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– Chinese cities, factories lock down –

All 17 million people in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen spend their first full day under lockdown, as restrictions spread across Shanghai and other major cities to combat an outbreak challenging the nation’s zero-tolerance Covid strategy.

Authorities report 2,300 new virus cases nationwide on Monday and almost 3,400 a day earlier, the highest daily figure in two years.

– France drops vaccine pass, masks –

France drops the need for a vaccine pass to enter public spaces such as cinemas or restaurants, while masks are now only required on public transport, and no longer at work or in school.

– Peru reopens schools –

Peru restarts in-school classes for the first time in two years after they were suspended due to the pandemic.

– Politicians positive –

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from a trip to Turkey, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Former US president Barack Obama says he has tested positive for a mild case of Covid-19.

Tongan prime minister Siaosi Sovaleni is also positive.

– Six million dead –

Coronavirus has killed at least 6,041,660 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on Monday.

The US has recorded the most Covid deaths with 967,552, followed by Brazil on 655,078 and India with 515,877.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid, the WHO estimates the true death toll could be two to three times higher.