ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to allow only vaccinated people to travel by rail from October 1st.
The NCOC meeting held here on Monday under the chairmanship of NCOC Chief Asad Umar expressed concern over the growing spread of the Covid-19 in the country and especially in Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
The meeting issued instructions to the concerned districts to implement the safety protocols and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The meeting also considered the measures to be taken in view of the arrival of Muharram. The Forum expressed satisfaction with the vaccination process, and called for steps to be taken to administer the second dose in a timely manner.
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Meanwhile, the NCOC in the past 24 hours reported 4,040 new coronavirus cases in Pakistan and 53 Covid-19 deaths taking the nationwide cases tally to 1,071,620 and death toll to 23,918, since the pandemic outbreak in February 2020.
According to the NCOC, national Covid-19 positivity ratio in the past 24 hours was recorded at 7.54 percent.
During the past 24 hours, a total 53,528 tests were conducted countrywide of which 19,506 tests in Punjab, 17,625 in Sindh, 10,053 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 3,089 in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,047 in Balochistan, 1,667 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK),and 541 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
A total of 16,501,934 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far, while 639 hospitals are equipped with Covid-19 facilities across the country. Coronavirus data released by the NCOC here on Monday revealed that after the emergence of 4,040 new Covid-19 cases the national tally of active coronavirus cases has surged to 83,298,which is the highest number during the fourth wave of the pandemic.
The NCOC also reported that during the past 24 hours, 2,765 coronavirus patients have recovered taking the national tally of recoveries to 964,404.
Out of 53 Covid-19 coronavirus patients who died during the past 24 hours, 50 of them were under treatment in various hospitals of which 25 died on ventilators and three patients died at home quarantines.
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At present, 4,276 coronavirus patients are admitted in hospitals of which 3,805 Covid-19 infected patients are under treatment in Critical Care Units (CCUs).
Countrywide 440 ventilators were occupied, while no Covid-19 affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Islamabad with 46 percent ventilator occupancy was top among the four cities where maximum ventilators were occupied followed by Peshawar 38 percent, Multan 34 percent and Rawalpindi 34 percent.
Skardu with 89 percent utilisation of oxygen beds was on top among the four cities with maximum oxygen beds occupancy followed by Hyderabad 68 percent, Karachi 60 percent, and Abbottabad 59 percent.
Out of total 1,071,620 cases detected in Pakistan, Sindh with 400,400 cases is on top followed by Punjab with 364,680 cases, KPK with 148,619 cases, the ICT 90,660 cases, Balochistan 31,177 cases, AJK 27,288 cases, and GB 8,796 cases.
Out of 23,918 nationwide deaths recorded in the country since the pandemic outbreak, Punjab with 11,201 deaths is on top wherein seven deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, followed by Sindh with 26 deaths in the past 24 hours, KPK with 4,556 deaths of which 16 died in the past 24 hours, ICT with 816 deaths of which two died in the past 24 hours, the AJK with 646 deaths of which one died in the past 24 hours, Balochistan with 331 deaths, and GB with 153 deaths of which one died in the past 24 hours.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021