ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Sunday reported 5,026 fresh infections in the country for the first time in five months.
According to the Centre, 56,965 tests were conducted during 24 hours out of which 5,026 turned out to be positive. The virus cases reported on Sunday have been the highest since April 4, reports Geo News. At present, the COVID-19 positivity rate in the country stands at 8.82pc, said the NCOC.
Meanwhile, the virus claimed 62 more lives in 24 hours, pushing the national death tally to 23,422. In addition, 941,659 people have recovered so far across the country, while the number of active cases is 69,756. Out of 62 deaths reported during the 24 hours, 30 were reported in Sindh, 18 in Punjab, six in KP, two in Islamabad, and three each in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister of Planning and Development and NCOC chief Asad Umar Sunday said the fourth wave of the pandemic, driven by the Delta variant, was hitting the country hard, as infections continue to spread rapidly.
Addressing a press conference here along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Umar said despite the rising number of cases, the situation in Pakistan was not as bad as in other countries of the region, including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.
He said the total number of COVID-19 vaccinations in Pakistan had cross 30 million, adding that the country was making "good progress" with the pace of vaccinations. More than 10 million doses have been administered in the last 16 days with five million administered last week, Umar said, adding that even "superpowers have not been able to achieve what Pakistan had" in terms of vaccination.
The federal government is spending Rs200 billion on vaccines and, currently, 3,000 mobile units are providing door-to-door vaccination services, he said. The minister also pointed out that delays in shipments had led to shortage of vaccines in the country.
Asad also shed light on the curbs that the federal and provincial governments had imposed in different cities of the country to contain the spread of the virus and said both the NCOC and the provinces "are in this situation together."
He, however, highlighted that decisions should be made by a central authority (the federal government), otherwise, it would lead to mismanagement and cause trouble to the masses. He emphasized that the NCOC had "nothing to do with politics."
On the issue of sanctions, he said restrictions should be imposed in a targeted manner so that the employment of people was not affected. The minister said the major reason for the spread of coronavirus was the Delta variant that first emerged in India and was now spreading faster than the British variant.
Asad said he would make recommendations to the prime minister regarding the coronavirus situation on Monday (today). In a tweet separately Asad Umar said: “Pakistan has crossed 3 crore vaccinations. The first crore took 113 days. The second 28 days and the 3rd only 16 days. Pace has rapidly increased. All 6 days this week were a record. 9 lakh 34 thousand vaccinations yesterday. In the last 6 days 5 million vaccinations were done.”
Dr Faisal Sultan noted that the country was passing through the fourth wave of coronavirus, adding that overall, the coronavirus positivity rate was over 8%. Dr Sultan said 55% of patients in Karachi were on intensive care beds, while in the last few days, 480 to 500 people were being admitted to hospitals' coronavirus wards on a daily basis.
He said the rise in cases had exerted pressure on the health sector, especially in major cities like Abbottabad and Islamabad. Dr Sultan stressed that wearing masks, not going to crowded places, and keeping rooms ventilated could help curb the spread of the disease, adding that vaccination reduces the risk of getting sick by ten times.