ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus cases in Pakistan have once again started showing an upward trend after seeing a declining trend for two days as in the past 24 hours the country reported 1,947 Covid-19 cases and 59 deaths.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), authorities over the past 24 hours conducted 35,073 tests of which 1,947 tested positive for coronavirus, which reflects a positivity ratio of 5.56.
Following 59 new Covid-19 deaths, the national death tally has reached 10,409, and with 1,947 new cases the national coronavirus case tally has reached 490,476, since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 in the country.
Pakistan has reported 1,903 coronavirus recoveries during the last 24 hours, which took the national recoveries to 444,360 people, with 90.6 percent recovery rate since the outbreak of the deadly virus.
According to official data, Sindh is on top with 219,421 Covid-19 cases, followed by the Punjab with 141,393 cases, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) with 59,729 cases, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) with 38,395 cases, Balochistan with 18,254 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with 8,383 cases, and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) with 4,870 cases.
Punjab is on top on account of coronavirus deaths with 4,160 cases followed by Sindh with 3,623 deaths, KPK with 1,683 deaths, ICT with 428 deaths, AJK with 229 deaths, and G-B with 101 deaths.
According to the NCOC report, Punjab has reported 679 coronavirus cases, and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The provincial total has risen to 141,393, while the death toll is at 4,160.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reported 245 coronavirus cases and eight deaths during the last 24 hours.
The provincial total has risen to 59,729, while the death toll is at 1,683.
Balochistan has reported another seven cases, taking the tally to 18,254.
The death toll remains 185.
Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively reported 161 coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours.
The AJK also recorded three deaths during this period taking the Covid-19 death tally to 229, since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
With the start of the second wave of the Covid-19, which has become more deadly as compared with the first wave, the federal government on December 9, 2020 imposed various restrictions across the country to contain the virus.
The government has also warned, if the public ignored the Covid-19 SOPs it would bring more restriction with the shutting down of more sectors.
The government repeatedly has stated that there was a rapid increase in infections during the second wave as the public was less serious than it was during the first wave.
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 a work-from-home policy, and a 50 percent occupancy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021