ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's coronavirus cases tally has reached 424,668 and death toll, 8,508 as Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) jointly reported 1,509 new cases, and 21 deaths. The Covid-19 data released here on Tuesday evening by the Sindh Chief Minister, Murad Ali Shah's office said that the province had detected 1,472 Covid-19 new cases, and 21 deaths during the last 24 hours.
In a statement, he said 11,242 tests were conducted during this period. The provincial total has risen to 187,684, while the death toll stood at 3,081. Coronavirus data released by the AJK Health Department announced detection of 37 new Covid-19 cases, and 77 recoveries, taking the corona infections to 7,427, and recoveries to 5829, while no new death was reported in the past 24 hours.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus, so far a total of 182 people have died of the infection in the AJK, and 1,416 are under treatment. The AJK government has reduced the daily testing from average 800 daily, a week ago to average 400, official data issued by the AJK Health Department said.
Meanwhile, data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in the morning said that on Monday Pakistan recorded 89 Covid-19 deaths for the first time in five months. The increase in the Covid-19 cases and deaths within past six weeks show that the country struggles to contain the second wave of the Covid-19 infections.
According to the NCOC data, Sindh and Punjab recorded 41 new deaths, while six died of coronavirus in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one in the AJK. Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan reported no deaths in the past 24 hours. With 1,509 new Covid-19 infections reported by Sindh and AJK, the number of coronavirus cases reported across the country up to Tuesday evening reached 424,668, of which over 45,218 cases are active.
At least 2,486 patients are under critical care with 336 on ventilators. The case positivity rate has shot up to 8.58 percent with the highest Covid-19 prevalence observed in Karachi as 21.80 percent, followed by 18.31 percent in Mirpur, and 16 percent in Muzaffarabad.
Hyderabad's positivity rate has fallen to 9.15 percent and Lahore's to 5.98 percent, while Rawalpindi recorded 8.51 percent. Overall, Sindh has the highest case positivity rate of 13.09 percent, the AJK is second at 9.77 percent, closely followed by the KP with 9.67 percent, while Balochistan reported 8.68 percent, Islamabad 4.88 percent, Punjab four percent, and G-B 2.78 percent.
To contain the spread of the Covid-19, the government has imposed various restrictions across the country as per the recommendations of the NCOC. The federal government has made face masks mandatory in public spaces, limited large public gatherings to 300, banned indoor weddings, closed shrines, cinemas, and theatres, and instructed public and private offices to adopt work-from-home policy and 50 percent occupancy.
The federal government also announced that educational institutes will remain closed from November 26 to January 10. The students will study at home or get weekly homework till December 24 and winter vacations will start December 25. The schools will reopen on January 11 - which is subject to coronavirus situation then. All examinations have been postponed except admission and recruitment tests.
Despite government restrictions, it has been observed across the country, majority of the masses are not following standard operating procedures (SOPs) as people are going to market places without wearing face masks, passengers are traveling inside and outside the cities without masks.
After the closure of educational institutes students have thronged to the playgrounds, indoor sports clubs including snooker, billiard, and playing in the streets as well, instead of staying at home.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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