F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Another 32 people died and 1,841 more were infected by the coronavirus during the last 24 hours (Friday) across the country, showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning.
As per the latest NCOC figures, with the addition of 32 new deaths the toll has now soared to 22,971 whereas the total number of cases has now climbed up to 1,001,875 after adding 1,841 new ones.
During the past 24 hours (Friday), as many as 1,310 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 924,782. As of Friday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 54,122 whereas the positivity ratio has recorded 4.89 percent.
As many as 363,101 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 352,153 in Punjab, 141,495 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 85,351 in Islamabad, 29,451 in Balochistan, 22,685 in Azad Kashmir and 7,639 in Gilgit Baltistan.
Moreover, 10,924 individuals have so far lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 5,793 in Sindh, 4,411 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 790 in Islamabad, 609 in Azad Kashmir, 322 in Balochistan and 122 in Gilgit Baltistan.
Global Developments
Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:
– Tokyo Games open –
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito officially opens the Tokyo Olympics in a nearly empty stadium and under the cloud of Covid restrictions after the Games were postponed for a year because of the pandemic.
– Moderna for 12 and up –
The European medicines watchdog approves the use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, making it the second jab, after Pfizer/BioNTech, for use on adolescents in the continent.
– Sydney ‘national emergency’ –
The fast-growing outbreak in Australia’s largest city has become a “national emergency,” state leaders say, as Sydney reports another record number of new infections despite a month-long lockdown.
– ECB lifts curbs on dividends –
The European Central Bank says it will end pandemic-era restrictions on banks’ payouts to shareholders but urged eurozone lenders to “remain prudent”.
The ECB imposed a cap on banks’ rewards to shareholders at the onset of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, to ensure lenders had enough liquidity to weather the fallout. The curbs were extended twice until September 2021.
– German travel curbs –
Germany’s public health institute puts Spain and the Netherlands on a list of high-incidence countries for coronavirus, meaning new restrictions, including quarantine, for unvaccinated travellers.
– US buys 200 mn shots –
The United States will purchase 200 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech and has an option to buy additional doses to address virus variants, the companies announce.
– Europe free testing call –
Increased free testing, contact tracing and other steps are needed to fight the Covid-19 Delta variant, now dominant in much of Europe, the World Health Organization and the EU’s disease agency warn.
– Jabs to start in Tanzania –
Tanzania’s government says it is gearing up to roll out vaccinations soon, in a shift from the policies of the country’s former Covid-sceptic leader.
– Cases surpass 40m in Latin America, Caribbean –
The number of Covid-19 cases surpassed 40 million on Saturday in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the first coronavirus infections were recorded last year, the number of cases in the region has reached 40,073,507, according to an AFP count based on official data as of 0200 GMT. The number of deaths has reached 1,353,335. The rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant has fueled a surge in Covid-19 cases around the world this week, with total cases hitting 192,942,266 with 4,143,687 deaths.
– Four million dead –
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,139,040 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 610,177 deaths, followed by Brazil with 547,016, India with 419,470, Mexico with 237,626 and Peru with 195,547 fatalities.
The WHO says up to three times the number suggested by official figures have died directly or indirectly as a result of the pandemic.
With inputs from AFP.
