Daily Times

At least 45 more people lost their lives to the novel coronavirus on Sunday, taking Pakistan’s nationwide death toll past 23,000, figures issued by the NCOC showed.

The national tally on Sunday of total active Covid-19 cases was recorded at 55,720, with 2,819 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 1,176 people recovering from the disease. Forty-five corona patients died, 41 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and four of them perished in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the NCOC. Most of the deaths occurred in Sindh, followed by Punjab.

Out of the total 45 deaths, 22 were under treatment on ventilators. There are 2,573 Covid-infected patients under treatment in critical condition, with 22 admitted on Sunday in various Covid-dedicated healthcare facilities of the country.

The national Covid positivity ratio on Sunday was recorded at 6.32 percent. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities including Islamabad 38%, Lahore 20%, Peshawar 15% and Karachi 15%. Around 278 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no Covid-affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

Some 44,579 tests were conducted across the country on Saturday, including 16,156 in Sindh, 17,525 in Punjab, 6,117 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 2,043 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 814 in Balochistan, 729 in GB, and 1,195 in AJK.

Around 925,958 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.

The coronavirus positivity ratio in Karachi reached 23.6% on Sunday, the Sindh Health Department said, with the provincial government gearing up to impose restrictions from today. The health department said 3,091 tests were conducted in the city in the last 24 hours, of which 725 cases came back positive, taking the metropolis’ positivity ratio to 23.6%.

The provincial health department said the number of Covid-19 patients are higher than they were during June, as it noted that it is the Delta variant – which first emerged in India – was causing the rapid spread of the disease. The city’s four major hospitals are operating at full capacity and a total of 1,100 patients are admitted there, according to official figures.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday announced that Pakistan has successfully inoculated 25 million people against the novel coronavirus.

Taking to Twitter, the minister – who is also the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – announced that aside from inoculating 25 million people (2.5 crores), the government is employing measures to vaccinate more people in the coming month. “Further acceleration [is] being planned for August. By [the] end of August, all major cities’ target is to have at least 40% of the eligible population vaccinated,” Umar wrote.