Pakistan has reported 15 more Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours (Thursday) but neighbouring India has issued new warning asking public to vaccinated and wearing facemasks, showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Friday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,635 whereas the number of total infections now rose to 1,575,652 after adding the fresh 15 cases.
During the last 24 hours (Thursday), 4,065 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio also soared to 0.37 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 25.
India on alert for new variants
India’s health minister has advised the public to take precautions against Covid-19, including getting vaccinated and wearing masks, as the country remains on alert for potential new variants that could emerge from the wave of infections sweeping neighboring China.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday told Parliament that India would begin randomly testing 2% of international travellers arriving at the country’s airports, after he asked regional authorities to send positive samples to laboratories monitoring for new Covid strains.
“States have been told to make people aware of (the need to) wear masks, use hand sanitizers, maintain respiratory hygiene and social distancing,” Mandaviya said, as he encouraged Indians to receive vaccines or booster shots.
Speaking at a meeting to review the Covid situation in the country amid rising cases in several Asian nations, Mandaviya said: “Covid is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be on the alert, and strengthen surveillance.”
India, a country of 1.3 billion, relaxed its Covid restrictions earlier this year after a drop in infections, and people have mostly stopped wearing masks outside.
The warnings from the Indian minister come as China braces for infections to spread from its biggest cities to its vast rural areas following its hurried and under-prepared exit from the zero-Covid strategy earlier this month.
On Wednesday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern over rising cases in China, emphasizing he was worried about “increasing reports of severe disease.”
“In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support,” Tedros told a news conference.
The surge could lead to nearly 1 million deaths in China, according to a study released last week, which added it was also likely to overload many local health systems in the country.
With inputs from CNN