Corona infection spree goes on with 2,547 fresh cases

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded another one-day highest Covid-19 infection toll since July 13 with 2,547 cases, said the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) on Thursday.
According to the NCOC, as many as 18 more fatalities were also recorded, taking the country’s death toll to 7,248. About 36,899 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 2,547 came out positive, taking the country’s tally for cases so far reported to 365,927. The positivity rate increased up to 6.9 percent during the last twenty-four hours.
The number of active coronavirus cases in Pakistan reached 32,000. As per the official data, Punjab is leading with the most number of active cases, 13,754, followed by Sindh with 11,960 cases, Islamabad with 6,132, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 3,025, Azad Jammu and Kashmir with 947, Balochistan with 841 and Gilgit Baltistan has 240 active cases.
As for the death toll, a total of 2,764 deaths have occurred in Sindh, 2,519 in Punjab, 1,138 in KP, 265 in Islamabad, 157 in Balochistan, 132 in AJK and 93 deaths have been reported from GB.
The NCOC stated that of the 18 fatalities reported on November 18, four were reported from Sindh, 10 from Punjab, two from Islamabad and one each from Balochistan and AJK.
About 886 patients also recovered from the deadly virus in the past 24 hours, taking the number of total recoveries recorded in Pakistan so far to 326,674.
According to NCOC, of the total recoveries, 158,559 have been recorded in Sindh, 112,284 in Punjab, 43,052 in KP, 25,278 in Islamabad, 16,582 in Balochistan, 5,690 in Azad Kashmir and 4,482 in Gilgit Baltistan.
About 234 ventilators are occupied across Pakistan out of the total 1,806 ventilators allocated for COVID-19 patients.
Pakistan has so far conducted about 5,055,382 Covid-19 tests. There are about 794 hospitals with COVID-19 facilities with around 2,025 patients admitted across the country.
A total of 36,899 tests were conducted across the country during this period. 326,674 people have recovered from the deadly disease while 5,055,382 samples have been tested thus far.
In Balochistan, 53 new cases including 11 from educational institutions were reported during the last 24 hours. The provincial health department said on Thursday that the positivity rate of Covid-19 is 3 percent in the province, whereas the recovery rate is 96 percent. A total of 877 infections have been reported from educational institutions so far.
In Rawalpindi, the district administration sealed five virus hotspots for 10 days after recording an unusual hike in Covid-19 cases. Markets, shopping malls, restaurants, offices and public transport will remain closed in the coronavirus hotspot areas including Sector C, Phase 1, DHA, Gulshan Abad, Street 10 Hali Road, Block B4 Muslim Town and Bahria Town, Phase-III.
In Karachi, four more cops have been infected by novel coronavirus. The four police officials posted at Mubeena Town police station contracted Covid-19, police department said in a statement. Infected policemen have quarantined them at their homes.
The tally of overall infected police officers and other personnel has been 3435, while 3378 policemen have been recuperated and returned to their homes, police said. Nineteen policemen including officers died while performing duty during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to police. “Presently 38 officers and personnel have been under medical treatment,” the department stated. Meanwhile, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said on Thursday that Pakistan is adapting its response to Covid-19 as the situation evolves.
While addressing the WHO Virtual Press Conference on the latest COVId-19 situation in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Dr Sultan said that Pakistan is committed to containing the coronavirus outbreak while ensuring that gains made in other areas so far are not impeded.
The SAPM said that Pakistan is a country affected not just by COVID-19 but was also battling polio. “Our populations are exposed to insecurity, natural disasters, and other emergencies,” he said. “Our decade-long efforts to eradicate this disease [polio] are now being impacted by COVID-19, as polio staff and resources are diverted to the pandemic response.”
He said that Pakistan has made many achievements in battling COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and has been able to significantly reduce transmission by July and August this year.
“However, like many countries around the world, easing of lockdowns resulted in a resurgence of cases in October. This required a strategic review of our response,” he said.
“There was a recognised need for rapid review on what worked well and what needs to be improved for planning a more effective response to the pandemic,” Dr Faisal maintained.
The SAPM said Covid-19 has led Pakistan to rethink the approach to managing PoE and outlined five findings. TLTP