Daily Times

Pakistan reported 4,007 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the total caseload in the country to 900,000.

According to the data provided by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), at least 88 more people succumbed to the virus on Saturday, pushing the national tally to 20,177. The coronavirus positivity rate in Pakistan stood at 6.43% with 63,436 active cases across the country.

On Saturday, most of the deaths occurred in Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the total 88 deaths, 40 died during treatment on ventilators. There are 4,412 infected patients under treatment in critical care in various Covid-dedicated healthcare facilities.

The maximum ventilators are occupied in four major areas including Lahore 51 percent, Multan 70 percent, Bahawalpur 42 percent and Peshawar 33 percent. The maximum oxygen beds are occupied in four major areas of Gujranwala 45 percent, Swabi 48 percent, Peshawar 41 percent and Multan 62 percent. Around 536 ventilators are occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.

Some 62,238 tests were conducted across the country on Friday, including 24,299 in Sindh, 23,152 in Punjab, 8,471 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 3,661 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,455 in Balochistan, 387 in GB, and 813 in AJK.

Around 813,855 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 897,468 cases have been detected which also include the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 18,651, Balochistan 24,413, GB 5,471, ICT 80,156, KP 129,013, Punjab 333,057 and Sindh 306,707. About 20,177 deaths have been recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion.

A total of 12,717,235 tests have been conducted so far, while 639 hospitals are equipped with Covid facilities. Some 4,819 patients are admitted to hospitals across the country.

The NCOC has directed provinces to refrain from reopening educational institutions in districts with high Covid-19 infection rates. The NCOC, in a letter sent to the provinces, said educational institutions in the districts where the coronavirus positivity ratio is high, should not reopen on May 24 as was previously decided. They must instead remain closed till June 6.

“The districts where the infection rate is less – below 5% – can reopen educational institutions (on May 24),” NCOC said in a notification sent to the provinces. The NCOC has set a cap of 5% positivity ratio for reopening of schools; if a district has an infection rate higher than the limit, educational institutes there are barred from reopening.

A day earlier, the federal education ministry had said educational institutes in 12 districts of Sindh will remain closed till June 6, as the coronavirus positivity ratio in those districts is higher than 5%. The districts include Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, and all districts of Karachi. All educational institutions will remain closed throughout Islamabad, the federal ministry added.

The statement said the positivity ratio is high in 52 districts across Pakistan and so all educational institutes in these areas will remain closed till June 6. This includes four districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir – Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Bagh, and Sadhnaut. In Balochistan, the positivity ratio is high in Quetta. In Punjab, it is high in Attock, Bahawalpur, Bhakkar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Khanewal, Khushab, Lahore, Layyah, Lodhran, Mianwali, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Okara, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Toba Tek Singh. In KP, 14 districts have a high positivity ratio, including Abbottabad, Bannu, Buner, Charsadda, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Haripur, Kohat, Karam, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Swabi, and Swat, and so education institutes here will also remain closed.