Another 34 fall victim to corona

ISLAMABAD: The total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Sunday were recorded at 38,348, as 2,756 more people tested positive during the last 24 hours.

As many as 34 corona patients lost their lives, out of whom 26 died in hospitals on Sunday, according to the latest update issued by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

No affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), while 267 ventilators elsewhere in Pakistan were occupied, out of the 1,803 allocated for COVID-19 patients.

Some 36,929 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday, including 11,439 in Sindh, 12,607 in Punjab, 5,099 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5,550 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 854 in Balochistan, 306 in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and 1074 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Around 330,885 people have recovered so far across Pakistan making it a significant count.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a total of 376,929 cases have been detected so far, including 6,123 in AJK, 16,810 in Balochistan, 4,542 in GB, 27,018 in ICT, 44,599 in KP, 114,508 in Punjab and 163,329 in Sindh.

About 7,696 deaths have been recorded so far since the eruption of the contagion, including 2,829 in Sindh of whom 11 died in hospital and two out of hospital on Sunday, while 2,861 died in Punjab of whom seven died in hospital and six out of hospital on Sunday, 1,327 in KP of whom two died in hospital on Sunday, 279 in ICT of whom one died in hospital on Sunday, 161 in Balochistan, 95 in GB of whom one died in hospital on Sunday and 144 in AJK of whom four died in hospital on Sunday. Around 5,216,955 tests have been conducted so far countrywide.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday chaired a high-level meeting on the overall corona situation in the country.

Federal Ministers Khusro Bakhtiar, Shafqat Mehmood, Hammad Azhar, Senator Shibli Faraz, Ejaz Shah, Asad Umar special assistants Dr Sania Nishtar, Dr. Faisal Sultan, Advisor to the Prime Minister Abdul Razak Dawood and Minister of State Ali Muhammad Khan attended the meeting.

“We must not lose sight of the seriousness of coronavirus, balance and caution in the second phase, as it has already been overcome with an exemplary strategy during its first phase,” he said.

The premier directed that all possible steps be taken to curb the spread of the epidemic and save the lives of common people. He also directed that a meeting of the National Coordinating Committee be convened on COVID-19 for decision-making and consultation on various issues in this regard.

The meeting was briefed on the decisions taken by the NCOC. The prime minister was apprised of various aspects including the spread of corona in the country, loss of precious lives due to the epidemic and efficiency of hospitals.

In a related development, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Monday recorded the highest corona positivity ratio in the country during the last 24 hours which is 7.46 percent, said

The Centre reviewed the current COVID-19 situation in a meeting attended by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood here. The provincial representatives joined the meeting through the video link.

The meeting was informed that the positivity ratio in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was 11.45 percent, Balochistan 7.73 percent, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 5.23 percent, Islamabad 8.09 percent, KP 9.85 percent, Punjab 3.95 percent and Sindh 9.63 percent.

The major positive cases in Punjab are recorded in Rawalpindi, Multan, Lahore and Faisalabad, while Karachi and Hyderabad had more cases. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Peshawar, Abbottabad and Swat have more corona cases. Similarly, Mirpur, Gilgit and Islamabad have more cases.

The meeting was told that 2,155 COVID-19 patients were currently under treatment at the hospitals and that the number of critical patients had increased twofold in the last two weeks. The meeting was informed that 19 percent cases were from education sector. The positivity ratio in educational institutions increased from 1.8 percent to 3.3 percent during the last one week which is actually 82 percent.