Coronavirus infections plummet below 900 mark in Pakistan
NCOC data shows 20 more people died of Covid in last 24 hours: Positivity ratio plunges to 2.11%: Netherlands, India relaxes restrictions
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The number of everyday coronavirus infections has gone down rapidly in Pakistan with the positivity ratio also plunging to a little over two percent.
Pakistan has registered 847 coronavirus cases and another 20 deaths during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday morning.
As per the latest NCOC data, after the addition of 20 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 30,173 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,508,504 after adding the fresh 847 cases.
During the last 24 hours (Saturday), 40,127 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 2.11 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 1,113.
Statistics 27 Feb 22:
— NFRCC (@NFRCCofficial) February 27, 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 40,127
Positive Cases: 847
Positivity %: 2.11%
Deaths :20
Patients on Critical Care: 1113
During the last 24 hours (Saturday), as many as 1,236 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,441,528. As of Sunday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 36,803.
As many as 567,309 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 501,108 in Punjab, 216,051 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 134,292 in Islamabad, 35,325 in Balochistan, 42,946 in Azad Kashmir and 11,473 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Moreover, 13,497 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,067 in Sindh, 6,246 in KP, 1,011 in Islamabad, 787 in Azad Kashmir, 375 in Balochistan and 190 in Gilgit Baltistan.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Dutch celebrate carnival as most Covid curbs end
Decked out from head to toe in fancy dress, singing and dancing as the beer flows free, Dutch revellers celebrated carnival on Friday, as the Netherlands axed most Covid restrictions.
The country is one of the last in Europe to ease towards normal after last December imposing some of the continent's toughest measures to curb a surge in Omicron infections, especially unpopular among Dutch party animals.
"Covid is over, now it's time to party," said Senna Godefroy, 26, dressed in a yellow and florescent orange jumpsuit in the carnival town of Breda in the southern Netherlands.
Friday saw bars and restaurants allowed to stay open beyond 1:00 am, health passes dropped and social distancing axed. Masks remain compulsory only on public transport.
In Breda, hundreds of people thronged bars and cafes in balloon-festooned streets as music blared out and disco balls glittered again until late.
"It's weird that everything is suddenly free of measures but it's fantastic," said Jesper Naio, a 22-year-old financial advisor.
"We've been waiting for it for so long," said Sanne van de Wael, a 22-year-old student.
Carnival season in 2020 marked the start of coronavirus spreading in the Netherlands.
With a population of 17 million people, the Netherlands has recorded 21,414 deaths linked to Covid-19 and 5.8 million cases during the pandemic. More than 85 percent of the adult population is vaccinated.
"Two years to make up for," chanted party-goers in Breda, brimming with enthusiasm, wearing flower garlands and carnival masks.
Delhi ends restrictions as virus cases fall
India's capital has announced the end of all the remaining coronavirus restrictions after government data showed cases of the recent Omicron variant had fallen.
The country recorded 11,499 new daily cases and 255 deaths, according to the health ministry's latest statistics on Saturday, a tiny fraction of those seen during the devastating peak last year.
Local officials in the Delhi region, which recorded 460 cases and two deaths Friday, decided to lift a night curfew and allow restaurants to operate at full capacity.
Places of religious worship were also permitted to reopen.
Schools will function fully offline from April 1 while fines for not wearing masks were also reduced.
The area's disaster management authority "withdraws all restrictions as situation improves" and because people were "facing hardships due to loss of jobs", Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Twitter.
India was battered by a devastating Covid outbreak last year that saw 200,000 people killed in a matter of weeks, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums.
Since the outbreak in 2020, India has officially recorded 42,905,844 cases and 513,481 deaths, third behind only the US and Brazil.
With inputs from AFP.