COVID-19 claims 34 more lives and infects 1,808 more

ISLAMABAD: A total of 1,808 new cases of COVID-19 and 34 more deaths were recorded across the country during the last 24 hours, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday.
The tally of deaths reached 7,055 in Pakistan with these fresh deaths, whereas the number of active cases of COVID-19 reached 22,088 and the total count of infections stood at 349,992.
A total of 36,686 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours and the country has so far carried out 4,810,182 tests. A total of 784 more patients recovered from the virus, whereas, the total number of recoveries stands at 320,849 patients.
In Islamabad, the number of coronavirus cases is increasing sharply as 322 new infections were reported during the last 24 hours. According to the District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem, 322 cases were registered in the federal capital after 5,453 tests in the past 24 hours. The COVID-19 positivity rate in Islamabad has jumped to 5.8 percent.
In Sindh, the provincial government on Thursday reported over 950 virus cases, the highest figure since July this year, according to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
“We reported 979 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the province during the last 24 hours after performing 12,599 tests,” the chief minister said while sharing the daily virus tally. He said that 314 more people have recovered from coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Sharing astonishing figures of the virus cases from Karachi alone, the chief minister said that the city reported 789 COVID-19 cases out of 979 provincial cases during the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, several Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) employees working at the Jinnah International Airport have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to reports, the civil aviation employees have isolated themselves at home for 14 days, with their duties handed over to other employees. Last week, the CAA Hyderabad Training Institute was sealed after 27 new cases of coronavirus surfaced.
In Punjab, Additional Sessions Judge Lahore Azfar Sultan Syed died of coronavirus on Thursday. According to the spokesperson of the Lahore High Court, Azfar Sultan Syed was under treatment after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus a few days earlier.
Additional Sessions Judge Azfar Sultan Syed had been posted in the Lahore Sessions Court.
Following the confirmation of the virus in the judge, the courtroom was sealed and employees working over there were tested for the COVID-19. “The tests of the employees remained negative”, the LHC spokesperson added. The court was also disinfected.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan has said the number of Covid-19 cases have surged in Pakistan during the last few weeks and time has come to take tough decisions.
“People are not taking pandemic seriously due to which positive cases are increasing rapidly,” he said, adding that marriage halls and restaurants were becoming main sources for the spread of Covid-19.
Underscoring the neglect from the masses, the SAPM on health said the people need to be more careful about the situation and play an active role in the fight against the pandemic.
Speaking on the vaccine, the special assistant said that the Prime Minister has approved funds to purchase the possible vaccines of COVID-19 in advance. The Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination had written a letter to PM Imran Khan to seek permission for advance booking of coronavirus vaccine. – TLTP