18 more die as virus rate nears 5 percent, call to follow SOPs

ISLAMABAD: There has been no letup in increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country with virus positivity rate reached 4.94 percent, as 1,313 more people tested positive after the tests of 26,565 over the last twenty-four hours, according to the data shared by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday.
According to the NCOC, the country reported 18 more deaths due to coronavirus-related complications during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 6,867.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 1,313 fresh infections lifted the national tally of cases to 337,573.
There are a total of 14,646 active cases of the coronavirus as 316,060 patients have so far recovered from the disease. So far, Sindh has reported 147,295 cases, followed by Punjab with 105,197 cases while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 39,889, Balochistan 16,000, Islamabad 20,471, Gilgit Baltistan 4,306 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 4,415 cases.
There are a total of 959 patients admitted in different hospitals across the country and 117 of them are stated to be in critical condition who have been shifted to ventilators.
Meanwhile, Sindh province has reported eight more coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, said Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday. “The province has registered 492 fresh coronavirus cases in the past twenty-four hours”, said CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah in his daily briefing. Out of 492 cases, 354 cases have been reported in Karachi only, he added.
The overall death toll due to coronavirus has reached 2,647, while the province has registered 1,47,787 cases so far. As many as 1,39,633 people have recovered their health from the disease. A total of 191 patients suffering from the virus are said to be critical out of which 29 are on the ventilators, said chief minister Sindh.
Adviser to the CM Sindh, Murtaza Wahad said that the ratio of Covid-19 positive cases in Sindh has reached 6.6 percent in the last 24 hours. He said that novel coronavirus cases are rapidly rising in Sindh. After dropping in coronavirus infections to one percent, the people were thinking that the pandemic has come to an end in Pakistan, Wahab said.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan has asked the people to adhere to precautionary measures against Covid-19.
Talking to the media persons here on Wednesday, he said it is important to avoid the spread of the pandemic. He said the government would continue its smart lockdown policy during the second wave of the Covid-19 without putting additional pressure on the common man.
He urged people to continue to follow the SOPs regarding coronavirus, including maintaining social distancing, use of face masks and washing hands with sanitiser.
Dr Faisal said that coronavirus cases are increasing in the country day by day and only implementation of precautionary measures can help stop the second wave of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has been recommended to curb the spread of novel coronavirus through the imposition of micro-smart lockdown due to a consistent hike in the cases in the fourth consecutive week.
Meanwhile, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, Shafqat Mehmood has said that the situation of Covid-19 is not too dangerous yet to close all educational institutions in the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, the minister said that the government is keenly observing the situation in educational institutions but has not yet taken any final decision to close them.
The minister said that the government is doing coronavirus tests of all teachers and other staff in the educational institutions. He said that coronavirus cases are increasing in the country day by day so everyone should strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to remain safe from the pandemic. – TLTP