Pakistan reports uptick in coronavirus infections

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported an uptick in coronavirus infections a day after reporting lowest cases in many many months. Pakistan on Tuesday reported just 16 Covid-19 infections reflecting the pandemic is taking last breaths in the country.

The statistics of the National Institute of Health (NIH) which were released on Wednesday morning showed that Pakistan has recorded 57 coronavirus infections and one fatality during the last 24 hours (Tuesday).

The death toll in the country climbed up to 30,620 while the number of total infections now stood at 1,572,835 after adding the fresh 57 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), 13,021 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio nearly doubled to 0.44 percent to previous day’s 0.23 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 46.

New Zealand could face another Covid-19 wave

According to Xinhua news agency, New Zealand could be hit by another Covid-19 wave before the end of the year, a COVID-19 modeler warned.

Prof Michael Plank of the University of Canterbury called on Kiwis to get boosted if they haven’t been, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been increasing in European countries such as Germany, Denmark, Belgium and Britain, Plank said, citing this as an example of another imminent pandemic wave.

Factors such as waning immunity and new Omicron sub-variants BQ.1.1, a BA.5 descendant, and another sub-type, BA.2.75.2, have been combined to contribute to the forming of another wave in the future, he said.

“So whatever happens in the Northern Hemisphere, I’d expect something similar to happen here — maybe in a matter of weeks,” said Plank, quoted by the New Zealand Herald.

He noted that many New Zealanders were no longer masking up and the border already opened up last month.

New Zealand recorded 9,975 new community cases of COVID-19 and 33 more deaths from the pandemic last week, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

On average, new cases per day reached 1,422 over the last week. The country has seen the number of daily cases going down steadily from over 10,000 cases nationwide in early July.