Daily Times

NCOCPakistan on Thursday reported a positivity rate of 4.34%, the lowest since March 6 as the country sees a steady decline in coronavirus cases amid the third wave of the pandemic.

The national tally of total active Covid-19 cases was recorded at 59,018 as 2,726 more people tested positive for the deadly virus besides 75 deaths reported across country on Thursday. Out of total 75 deaths, 68 patients were under treatment in hospitals while seven at their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Most of the deaths were reported from Punjab and Sindh, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Lahore 42 percent, Multan 66 percent, Bahawalpur 38 percent and Peshawar 34 percent. The maximum oxygen beds were occupied in four major areas including Gujranwala 46 percent, Swabi 40 percent, Multan 54 percent and Bahawalpur 37 percent. About 502 ventilators were 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 62,706 tests were conducted across country on Wednesday, including 22,043 in Sindh, 24,914 in Punjab, 7,771 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5,177 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,418 in Balochistan, 476 in GB. About 831,744 people have recovered from the disease so far across the country making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients.

On Thursday, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) granted go-ahead to locally made Covid-19 vaccine. The locally made coronavirus vaccine will be available for general use in the ongoing week. The single-dose vaccine has been made with the help of China’s CanSino Biologics at the National Institute of Health (NIH). In the first phase a total of 124,000 shots have been developed.