Daily Times

The number of coronavirus deaths in Pakistan surged to 11,055 on Tuesday, according to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) tally as a new coronavirus variant threatens the country’s prevention measures to curb the pandemic.

Since the start of January 2021, the country has witnessed 48.8 deaths on average every day with hospital intensive care units nearing capacity across the country as active Covid-19 cases surge to 35,485. Over 2,000 people died of coronavirus in the month of December last year while the death toll for November 2020 was 1,268 and October recorded 339 fatalities.

The national tally of total active Covid-19 cases in country on Tuesday reached 35,485 as 1,900 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 1,540 people recovered from the disease. Fifty-eight patients, 52 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and six in their respective homes or quarantines, died, according to the NCOC. Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab, followed by the Sindh. Out of the total 58 deaths during last 24 hours, 37 patients died on ventilators.

The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 49 percent, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 32 percent, Peshawar 31 percent and Lahore 38 percent. The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of a Covid patient) were also occupied in Four major areas of Peshawar 45 percent, Multan 38 percent, Karachi 40 percent and Rawalpindi 26 percent. Around 321 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Balochistan.

Some 36,513 tests were conducted across the country on Monday, including 10,600 in Sindh, 13,151 in Punjab, 6,075 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5,826 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 259 in Balochistan, 350 in GB, and 252 in AJK.

Around 476,471 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients.

Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 523,011 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 8,654, Balochistan 18,622, GB 4,887, ICT 40,177, KP 63,825, Punjab 150,316 and Sindh 236,530.

About 11,055 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 3,813 perished in Sindh among 20 of them died on Monday. 17 of them died in hospital and three out of the hospital. A total of 7,442,084 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 631 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities. Some 2,840 corona patients were admitted in hospitals across the country.

Pakistan will receive its first batch of the coronavirus vaccine directly from manufacturers, as well as the global platform of COVAX, in the first quarter of the year, the senior-most health official in Pakistan said.

The government will be ordering doses from more than one international supplier within this quarter, Dr Faisal Sultan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, told a private TV channel. Pakistan will only procure vaccines that have been approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) after evaluation of its quality vis a vis efficacy data, he explained.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Aijaz Jakhrani on Tuesday skipped a hearing of assets beyond known sources of income after being infected with Covid-19. Jakhrani’s advocate appeared before the Sindh High Court Circuit Bench Sukkur and stated that his client has tested positive for the Covid-19 and is unable to appear before the court. He also presented the test report before the court. Meanwhile, the court while ordering Jakhrani to get tested for the Covid-19 from a private hospital, adjourned the further hearing of the case until February 16.