ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded over 1,800 cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, as the number of cases surge across the country.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 1,808 cases and 15 deaths in the previous 24-hour period. The national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 975,092 while the death toll stands at 22,597.
The positivity ratio was recorded at 3.84% in the previous day. There are 2,162 people in critical condition including 43 new patients yesterday. There were 47,015 tests conducted in the previous day leading to new cases.
The number of active cases in the country has also increased to 38,622 with the new cases. Overall 913,378 people have recovered from the virus, including 670 in the past day.
Punjab has recorded 348,309 cases and 10,822 deaths, while the number of active cases in the province has reached 8,649. Islamabad has recorded 83,764 cases and 78 4deaths while there are 1,656 active cases in the federal capital.
Sindh has recorded 347,478 cases and 5,607 deaths. The province has seen a recent spike and the number of active cases has surged to 24,204. The number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 139,463 and 4,362 deaths while Balochistan has recorded 27,994 cases and 317 deaths.
Meanwhile, NCOC chief Asad Umar has urged the nation to reach out to all people aged 50 and above and encourage them to get vaccinated. “Pakistan has [27 million] people who are 50 years or older. This age group is most vulnerable to serious health effects of COVID,” he wrote.
Umar said that so far, 5.6 million people or 20.6% of the people of this age group have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. “Please encourage all in this age group to vaccinate as soon as possible,” he urged.
Ministry of Planning and Development launched the ‘Mental Health and Psychosocial Support unit’ as a part of its emergency response to COVID-19. The initiative is funded by United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund.
The aim of this initiative is to develop an evidence-driven Mental Health and Psychosocial Support model which is right-based, scalable and sustainable. The project will also help in raising public awareness for the psycho-social wellbeing of the at-risk populations.
