Daily Times

The number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus in the country shot past 900,000 on Sunday after more than 1,300 people recovered from Covid-19.

According to the data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the country reported less than 1,000 cases of coronavirus for the second consecutive day. The NCOC said that 44,544 people were tested for the infection in the last 24 hours, out of which 901 turned out to be positive. This brings the positivity ratio across the country to 2.02 percent.

Another 23 people died of the pandemic over the past 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan, since the pandemic began, now stands at 954,743 while the number of active cases in the country has increased to 32,341.

Punjab reported at least 141 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 345,796.

According to health officials, eight more patients succumbed to the deadly virus as the death toll reached 10,721. As many as 326,231 patients have recovered from the disease in the province so far.

Sindh reported at least 521 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 336,059.

According to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, eight more patients succumbed to the deadly disease as the toll reached 5,418. He further said that as many as 369 more patients recovered overnight, taking the total to 311,347.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is expected to receive millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines starting next week, as per government officials.

On either Monday or Tuesday, Pakistan is expected to receive 2.5 million doses of Moderna’s mRNA 1273 Covid-19 vaccine through COVAX while another 100,000 doses of Russian vaccine Sputnik V are being acquired by Islamabad through bilateral purchase and are expected to reach the country by next week, they said.

“Pakistan has also signed an agreement for the purchase of one million doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine, whose 100,000 doses are also expected to reach Pakistan early next week,” an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) said on Saturday.

“We will also receive three million doses of Sinovac on June 29 so there will be millions of doses available to inoculate a large number of the population in the country in July,” he added.

He revealed Pakistan will also receive over 12 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and an unspecified number of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine in July, through COVAX. However, the official admitted that the official date has not been communicated to Pakistan as to when the vaccines will be provided to it

“We have conveyed the regulatory requirements to the COVAX regarding the use of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine in Pakistan. According to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), any vaccine that has emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicine Agency (EMA) can be imported and used in Pakistan,” the official said, adding that now they were waiting for flight details of the consignment.