President Dr Arif Alvi and Minister for Defence Pervaiz Khattak tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday as national positivity ratio soared to 11.2%.
“I have tested positive for Covid-19. May Allah have mercy on all Covid affectees. Had 1st dose of vaccine but antibodies start developing after 2nd dose that was due in a week. Please continue to be careful,” the president said in a tweet posted on his social media account.
Begum Samina Alvi, wife of President Alvi, said she had her test done too, was negative and quarantining. About President Alvi, she said that he had mild symptoms but was in good spirit. “Alhamdulillah President @ArifAlvi has mild symptoms but is in good spirits,” Begum Samina Alvi said on Twitter. “I had my test done too & am negative & quarantining. We had our vaccine 1st dose done but it takes time to build immunity & I request everyone to please continue to get vaccinations done & practice SOPs [Standards Operating Procedures],” she added.
Meanwhile, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail in a tweet on Monday said that Defence Minister Pevaiz Khattak had been diagnosed with Covid-19. “Pervaiz Khattak is diagnosed with Covid positive. Get well soon PK,” Imran Ismail said in his tweet.
The national tally on Monday of total active Covid-19 cases was recorded at 46,663 as 4,525 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 2,268 people recovered from the disease. Forty-one patients died on Monday, 38 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and three in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Most of the deaths occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by Punjab. Out of the total 41 deaths, 12 of the deceased had died on ventilators during their treatment.
Some 40,369 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday, including 9,140 in Sindh, 15,780 in Punjab, 8,196 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5,359 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 758 in Balochistan, 377 in GB, and 759 in AJK.
Around 598,197 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 659,116 cases were detected that also includes the perished, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 12,484, Balochistan 19,525, GB 5,010, ICT 56,450, KP 85,531, Punjab 215,227 and Sindh 264,889. At least 14,256 deaths have been recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion. A total of 10,107,095 tests have been conducted so far, while 3,648 patients are currently admitted to hospitals across country.
The NCOC has also issued positivity ratio of various districts across country, highlighting disease prevalence. The districts with high positivity ratio as on March 28 are: Gujrat 7 percent, Bahawalpur 8 percent, Faisalabad 15 percent, Gujranwala 10 percent, Lahore 17 percent, Mandi Bahauddin 11percent, Multan 12 percent, Okara 9 percent, Rahim Yar Khan 9 percent, Rawalpindi 15 percent, Sargodha 12 percent, Sialkot 12 percent, Toba Tek Singh 9 percent, Peshawar 22 percent, Swat 23 percent, Nowshehra 19 percent, Dir Lower 8 percent, Malakand 12 percent and Swabi 12 percent.
After the surfacing of another case on Monday where a new-born tested Covid positive, the federal capital has conceded about 5,497 infection cases of kids under 10 years of age. The infant, born only a few weeks ago, is under treatment in Islamabad’s PIMS Hospital after he tested Covid positive. His mother’s report also showed she contracted the virus before delivering the child as doctors suggest the virus transferred to the newborn via her mother. The infant, on ventilator support in the ICU of Children’s Hospital, marks 5,497th case of Covid cases detected in pre-teens.