ISLAMABAD: Pakistan surpassed the grim milestone on 22,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Monday, as the nation witnessed a decline in cases and low positivity ratio.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 30 more death from COVID-19 in the past day was the toll reached 22,007. A further 907 cases were reported in the previous 24 hours as the national tally reached 949,175 cases.
There were 34,754 tests conducted in the past day, while the positivity ratio has remained 2.60%. Yesterday, the ratio had dropped to 19% which was the lowest this year.
The number of active cases in the country has also reduced 34,020 to while 2,238 patients remain in critical condition. Overall 893,148 people have recovered from the virus, including 829 in the past day.
Punjab has recorded 345,065 cases and 10,642 deaths, while the number of active cases in the province has reduced to 9,655. Islamabad has recorded 82,368 cases and 775 deaths while there are 1,130 active cases in the federal capital.
Sindh has recorded 332,254 cases and 5,341 deaths while the number of active cases in the province stands at 19,615. The number of coronavirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reached 137,065 and 4,269 deaths while Balochistan has recorded 26,633 cases and 301 deaths.
Vaccination situation improves
The vaccination drive in major cities of Punjab has resumed after several days of disruption due to a shortage of vaccines. Lahore deputy commissioner said Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are now available while those requiring the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab will have to wait.
The situation in Karachi has not improved yet as several centres are still closed and waiting for the vaccine. Sindh had announced to close all vaccination centres on Sunday due to shortages. The mass vaccination centre at Karachi’s Expo Centre is still not fully open.
On Sunday, a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight airlifted over 1.55 million doses of the SinoVac vaccine from China.
The NCOC said the special consignment of the SinoVac vaccine was part of the planned contracted quantity purchased from China. It added that another consignment of 2-3 million doses of Chinese vaccines would be reaching Pakistan in the next week followed by a continued supply.
