Coronavirus cases surge to over 227,000 in Pakistan

KARACHI: The coronavirus recoveries in Pakistan are now above 125,210, while the number of total confirmed cases has passed 227,000.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to 227, 000in the country, while the death toll stands at 4,622.  According to the National Command and Control Center (NCOC), more than 3,239 cases of coronavirus were reported while 48 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours.

The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) officials have said over the past 24 hours Pakistan’s COVID-19 recovery rate reached 56.5% after 11,581 recoveries were recorded across the country.

According to the government’s COVID-19 portal, these recoveries were the highest single-day jump in the country.

The recoveries in Punjab stand at 42,854, Sindh 50,908, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 15,520, Islamabad 8,610, Balochistan 5,331, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,185, and Azad Jammu Kashmir 686.

Previously, the highest single-day recoveries, 9,809, were recorded on June 12. According to official figures, there are 95,570 active cases in the country with the total number of infections at 225,283.

However,  the country is still witnessing a consistent rise in COVID-19 cases. Islamabad has imposed locality-based lockdowns in scores of hotspots in some 20 cities to curb the spread of the virus.

Moreover, the smart-lockdown imposed across Sindh was extended till 15th July, following its Punjab and Balochistan counterparts as the number of coronavirus cases shoot up in the country.

Out of the total number of infections, Sindh reported 90,795, around 80,240 cases in Punjab, 26,938 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27,608 in Balochistan, 10,717 Islamabad, 13,312 in Gilgit Baltistan and 1,216 in Azad Kashmir.

Out of a total of 4,622 deaths, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 1003 deaths, Sindh 1,460, Balochistan 121, Gilgit-Baltistan 123, Punjab 1,846, Azad Kashmir 36 and Islamabad Capital Territory has reported 132 death.

The Sindh government, in a bid to enhance COVID19 treatment, decided to convert 8,672 beds in isolation centers to oxygenated beds for high dependency units (HDUs) and procure more ventilators.

In a meeting presided over by CM Murad Ali Shah, it was decided that more HDU beds, with high and low oxygen flow options, would be procured. The equipment would be an addition to 530 ICU beds, each equipped with a ventilator, and 1,810 HDU beds in Sindh’s public hospitals.

In addition, the meeting had decided to carry out the conversion of over 8,000 beds in isolation facilities into HDU beds.

Addressing the meeting, Murad Ali Shah said that since the government could not test everybody, it had decided to conduct targeted screening. He also insisted that a lockdown was the only solution to curb the spread of the COVID-19.