Coronavirus infections, positivity ratio nosedive in Pakistan

The coronavirus infections and positivity ratio have nosedived as Pakistan recorded 1,400 cases, 41 deaths during the last 24 hours (Monday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday morning.

Amid the government’s robust approach to get implemented the Covid-19 guidelines across Pakistan amid new steps to target the unvaccinated people, the coronavirus positivity ratio took a deep plunge and was a little over three percent in several months.

As per the NCOC figures, after the addition of 41 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 27,638 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,241,825 after adding the fresh 1,400 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Monday), a total of 44,116 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 3.17 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 4,015.

Statistics 28 Sep 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 44,116
Positive Cases: 1400
Positivity %: 3.17%
Deaths : 41
Patients on Critical Care: 4015

— NFRCC (@NFRCCofficial) September 28, 2021

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), as many as 2,042 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,164,219. As of Tuesday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 59,968.

As many as 456,343 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 429,655 in Punjab, 173,353 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 105,217 in Islamabad, 32,875 in Balochistan, 34,074 in Azad Kashmir and 10,308 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 12,575 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,361 in Sindh, 5,514 in KP, 919 in Islamabad, 737 in Azad Kashmir, 348 in Balochistan and 184 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Biden gets booster -

US President Joe Biden, 78, receives a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot, and tells Americans still resisting the shots they are causing "an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country".

- Anti-Covid pill - 

Pfizer says it has begun a middle-to-late stage clinical trial of a pill to stave off the worst effects of Covid in people who have been infected.

- US recovery will 'take time' -

A full US economic recovery "will take time to complete," a top Federal Reserve official says, adding that effects from the far-reaching Delta variant of Covid-19 have surfaced in recent data.

- UK fuel panic -

After "panic buying" of petrol due to shortages caused by the lack of lorry drivers caused by Brexit and Covid, Britain's government faces calls to give priority access to healthcare and other essential workers.

- Thailand quarantine cut -

Thailand is to cut the quarantine for vaccinated travellers to seven days starting in October, officials say, as it seeks to revive its battered tourism industry.

- Sydney inches to 'freedom' -

Vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy lockdown by mid-October, Australian officials say, outlining a three-stage "blueprint for freedom" as case numbers fall in the city.

- Qatar Airways aid -

Qatar Airways says it received $3 billion (2.6 billion euros) in state aid to weather the coronavirus travel downturn and to offset losses it blamed on the cost of grounding aircraft.

- More than 4.7 million dead -

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,746,385 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 688,033 deaths, followed by Brazil with 594,443, India with 447,194, Mexico 275,450 and Russia with 204,679.

With inputs from AFP.