ISLAMABAD: The second wave of coronavirus continues hitting Pakistan hard as 71 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 9,080.
Data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Thursday showed that the country recorded 2,545 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 6.3 percent.
Grappling with a second wave of infections, the country has reported 448,522 Covid-19 cases so far. With 7,993 new recoveries on Wednesday, the number of active cases has dropped to 42,851. The most number of recoveries were reported in Sindh (6,952).
The average number of coronavirus deaths in Pakistan has been increasing since the beginning of December. The government data showed that at least 990 people have died of Covid-19 across the country for the last 16 days at a daily average of 61.18 deaths.
Comparatively, 337 lives were lost due to Covid-19 in the first 15 days of November at an average of 22.4 deaths per day while October saw 137 deaths in the first half with a daily average of 9.133 deaths.
The NCOC was informed on Thursday that the current positivity ratio in the country is 6.3 percent, compared to 7.2 percent a day earlier. The highest positivity ratio was observed in Karachi at 16.59 percent, followed by Peshawar at 13.34 percent and Mirpur at 9.40 percent.
The positivity ratio in various federating units was 11.4 percent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 14.2 percent in Balochistan, 1.5 percent in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), 3.6 per cent in Islamabad, 8.1 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 3.8 percent in Punjab and 10.6 percent in Sindh.
Meanwhile, the highest number of oxygenated bed occupancy in the country was in Peshawar, at 60 percent, followed by Rawalpindi at 41 percent, Multan at 39 percent and Islamabad at 39 percent. The NCOC was also told that the national fatality rate is 2.02 percent, against 2.22 per cent globally.
Meanwhile, smart lockdowns have been imposed in Karachi’s District Central and some neighbourhoods in Peshawar following a surge in coronavirus cases after the second wave of the pandemic hit Pakistan.
In Karachi, the lockdown is till December 31, the district administration announced Thursday. District Central’s deputy commissioner said that the lockdown has been placed on the advice of the district health officer.
In the district, only medical and general stores and milk shops will be allowed to remain open. Pillion riding and takeaway and delivery from restaurants will not be allowed and parks and public transport will be closed.
The authorities in Karachi have also marked 21 coronavirus hotspots in District East, 14 in District West, 22 in District Korangi, 13 in District Malir and 21 in District South.
In addition, at least seven areas in Peshawar went into a lockdown on Thursday. According to a notification issued by the district administration, these areas are: Hayatabad, Aslam Dheri, Qandi Raza Khan Road, Malik Shafiq Colony, Larma, Gulshan Rehman Colony and Hazara Colony. – TLTP