F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Another 57 people lost their lives to the coronavirus whereas 1,194 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours (Friday) across Pakistan, showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning.
As per the latest NCOC figures, after the addition of 57 more deaths the toll has now surged to 21,633 whereas the number of confirmed cases now stood at 939,931 after adding the 1,194 fresh ones.
During the past 24 hours (Friday), 2,038 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries now stood at 875,581.
As of Saturday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 42,717, whereas the positivity rate was hovering at 3.34 percent.
As many as 327,021 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 343,703 in Punjab, 135,569 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82,065 in Islamabad, 26,152 in Balochistan, 19,723 in Azad Kashmir and 5,698 in Gilgit Baltistan.
Moreover, 10,479 individuals have so far lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 5,220 in Sindh, 4,203 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 769 in Islamabad, 562 in Azad Kashmir, 292 in Balochistan and 108 in Gilgit Baltistan.
The health facilities across the country conducted 35,695 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of Covid-19 tests to 13,781,668 since the first case was reported early last year.
Global Developments
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
– G7’s one billion –
The leaders of G7 countries meet for their first in-person talks in nearly two years, with the rich democracies expected to pledge one billion vaccine doses to the world’s poorest countries.
– US pressures China –
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges China to show more transparency on the origins of Covid-19, including allowing World Health Organization experts back into China, in a rare call with a top Chinese official.
– Euro 2020 finally kicks off –
The Euro 2020 football tournament finally gets underway a year behind schedule, with Italy taking on Turkey. UEFA president Alexander Ceferin says that teams will have to deal with “a special situation” to complete the tournament because of the pandemic.
– Jumbos for Mallorca –
German airline Lufthansa says it is taking “extraordinary measures” to meet surging bookings for the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca, deploying a jumbo jet to ferry passengers from Frankfurt.
– Delta for danger –
The British government says the new Delta variant — first spotted in India — is 60 percent more transmissible in homes than the variant that forced the country to lock down in January
– South Africa’s third wave –
South Africa has officially entered its third wave with rising caseloads and a sluggish vaccine rollout fuelling fears of fresh strain on the country’s healthcare system.
– Moscow alarm –
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin sounds the alarm over a spike in coronavirus cases, as city authorities report 5,853 new cases of coronavirus, a record since mid-January.
– Germany lifts travel warning –
Germany will lift its pandemic travel warning for most countries from July 1, but restrictions remain in place for countries with higher levels of infection or where virus variants are circulating, such as Britain or India.
– Delay for CureVac vaccine –
A coronavirus vaccine being developed by Germany’s CureVac is facing delays as its late-stage trial is slowed by the wait for enough participants to catch Covid, officials say.
– Pfizer for Brazil’s teens –
Brazil’s health regulator approves the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged 12 and up, though they will likely have to wait months in line for older age groups to be vaccinated first.
– 3.7 million dead –
The pandemic has killed at least 3,775,362 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.
The US is the worst-affected country with 598,748 deaths, followed by Brazil with 482,019, India 363,079, Mexico 229,578, Peru 187,847 and Britain with 127,867.
The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies.
The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.
