ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported 53 deaths by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases surged to 551,842 in the last 24 hours.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 11,886 while 1,302 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Most numbers of casualties have been reported in Punjab.
Till now 249,498 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 159,705 in Punjab, 68,004 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18,844 in Balochistan, 41,734 in Islamabad, 9,144 in Azad Kashmir and 4,913 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
As per NCOC, the rate of positive cases of coronavirus in Karachi is 10.68 percent. The overall positive case rate in Islamabad is 1.18 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5.25 percent, Punjab 5.97 percent, and Sindh overall 10.23 percent. In Azad Kashmir, the positive cases of coronavirus are 5.97 percent, in Balochistan 3.52 percent, and in Gilgit-Baltistan 0.56 percent.
The National Immunization Drive against COVID-19 formally commenced across the country on February 3, one year after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The healthcare officials were administered with first shots of China’s Sinopharm vaccine at a special ceremony at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had said the health workers are our real heroes in the fight against the pandemic. “This is the reason that it was decided to administer the vaccine to the health workers in the first place,” he said.
The federal minister appreciated China for providing the vaccine to Pakistan. He said China is our true friend that has always stood by us in difficult times. Asad Umar said it is due to the government’s effective strategy and the cooperation of the people that the nation managed to control the spread of the pandemic.
