The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday said that the country’s oxygen supply capacity is now under stress amid the third wave of coronavirus.
Federal Minister Asad Umer, in a tweet, said that critical care patients in the country are now above 4500, which is 30% higher than the peak in June last year. “Hospital fill up continuing to grow. Critical care patients now above 4500, which is 30% higher than the peak in June last year. Oxygen supply capacity in the country is now under stress,” he said.
Pakistan on Monday also imposed a ban on travellers from India through air and land routes for the next two weeks, citing the spread of a new variant of coronavirus in the neighbouring country. A statement issued by the NCOC said the decision was taken during a meeting of the forum, presided over by Asad Umar. The forum was briefed about the spread of the new Indian variant of the coronavirus – a double-mutant variant – which is considered responsible for the recent surge in infections in the neighbouring country.
The national tally of total active Covid-19 cases was recorded at 82,276 as 5,152 more people tested positive for the deadly virus. Seventy-three corona patients died on Monday, 71 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and two in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the NCOC. Most of the deaths occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, followed by Punjab. Out of total 73 deaths, 19 died on ventilators.
Nasir Khan Durrani, former KP inspector general of police (IGP), also died of coronavirus on Monday. Durrani had been under treatment at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital since he contracted the deadly disease. He had been in the intensive care unit (ICU) and on a ventilator.
The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 81 percent, Nowshera 100 percent, Gujranwala 88 percent and Lahore 81 percent. The maximum oxygen beds were also occupied in four major areas of Mardan 77 percent, Gujranwala 85 percent, Peshawar 74 percent and Gujrat 71 percent. Around 538 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no Covid-affected person was on ventilator in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
Some 60,162 tests were conducted across country on Sunday, including 11,349 in Sindh, 34,681 in Punjab, 7,506 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 4,093 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,210 in Balochistan, 373 in GB, and 950 in AJK. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 761,437 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 15,669, Balochistan 20,940, GB 5,182, ICT 70,079, KP 106,500, Punjab 270,338 and Sindh 272,729. About 16,316 deaths have been recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 662,845 people have recovered from the disease so far.