Active cases drop below 6,000 as corona infects 174 more in Pakistan

Pakistan has reported another 174 everyday coronavirus infections and no fatality during the last 24 hours (Wednesday), suggested the statistics released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Thursday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

According to NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,594 while the number of total infections now stood at 1,570,636 after adding the fresh 174 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), 14,208 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 1.22 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 119.

COVID-19 Statistics 08 September 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 14,208
Positive Cases: 174
Positivity %: 1.22%
Deaths: 00
Patients on Critical Care: 119

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) September 7, 2022

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), another 554 patients have recovered from the Covid-19 in Pakistan and the number of total recoveries now stood at 1,534,163. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 5,879.

As many as 593,640 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 521,586 in Punjab, 223,837 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 139,287 in Islamabad, 35,960 in Balochistan, 44,290 in Azad Kashmir and 12,036 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As many as 13,610 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,232 in Sindh, 6,359 in KP, 1,031 in Islamabad, 793 in Azad Kashmir, 378 in Balochistan and 191 in Gilgit Baltistan.

 

China's Chengdu extends Covid lockdown

The Chinese megacity of Chengdu has extended a Covid-19 lockdown in most areas, maintaining curbs that have ground business to a halt and confined the majority of its 21 million residents to their homes.

China is the last major economy welded to a zero-Covid strategy, tamping down virus flare-ups through a combination of snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines.

Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, has been effectively under lockdown for a week since reporting several hundred Covid cases.

The measure was expected to be lifted on Wednesday, but the city government said in a notice that "the entire city will continue to deeply push forward our assault for zero community spread".

Authorities would "strive hard for a week to realise the goal of zero community transmission in the whole city", the government added.

"The fruits of the whole city's anti-epidemic measures are beginning to become apparent, but the risk of community transmission still exists in some areas," it said.

All residents under lockdown will be tested every day, and each household will be permitted to send out one person per day to purchase groceries and other supplies, according to the notice.

Chengdu logged 116 new local infections on Thursday, more than half of which showed no symptoms, according to figures from the provincial health commission.

Confined to their housing complexes, some residents were unable to flee when a strong earthquake in a nearby part of Sichuan reverberated through the city earlier this week, locals told AFP.

China's government has shown few signs of backing away from a zero-Covid approach despite mounting criticism that it is harming growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Businesses in Chengdu have been forced to temporarily close, with Swedish carmaker Volvo last week suspending production at a plant in the city that employs nearly 3,000 people.

Elsewhere, the southern business and technology hub of Shenzhen eased some curbs this week after a virus surge prompted authorities to order the city's 18 million residents to refrain from leaving their homes.

Officials in Beijing have urged the capital to guard against a rebound in infections during the Mid-Autumn public holiday, which runs from Saturday to Monday and is a popular period for travel and social gatherings.

China reported 1,334 new domestic infections on Thursday, the majority of which were asymptomatic, according to the National Health Commission.

With inputs from AFP.