18 more die as corona killing spree continues

ISLAMABAD: The total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan were Thursday recorded 32,005, as 2,547 more people tested positive during the last 24 hours.

A total of 18 corona patients, who were under treatment, died in hospitals on Wednesday, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). No affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan, while 234 ventilators elsewhere in Pakistan were occupied, out of 1,806 allocated for the corona patients.

Some 36,899 tests were conducted across the country on Wednesday, including 11,960 in Sindh, 13,754 in Punjab, 3,025 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 6,132 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 841 in Balochistan, 240 in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and 947 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Around 326,674 people have recovered from the disease so far across the country. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 365,927 cases have been detected so far, including AJK 5690, Balochistan 16,582, GB 4,482, ICT 25,278, KP 4,3052, Punjab 11, 2284 and Sindh 158,559.

Around 7,248 deaths have been recorded countrywide since the eruption of the contagion, including 2,764 in Sindh of whom four died in hospital on Wednesday, 2,519 in Punjab of whom 10 died in hospital, 1,318 in KP, 265 in ICT of whom two died in hospital, 157 in Balochistan of whom one died in hospital, 93 in GB and 132 in AJK of whom one died in hospital on Wednesday.

It is pertinent to mention that so far around 5,055,382 tests had been conducted, and 794 hospitals allocated with COVID-19 facilities while 2,025 patients were admitted across the country.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan Thursday said Pakistan was making sincere efforts to contain the spread of corona, ensuring that the gains made so far in other areas were not impeded.

Addressing a virtual press briefing along with Ministers of Health of World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) Dr Faisal Sultan assured that Pakistan would continue to collectively work together towards global, regional, and specific goals of universal health coverage.

He said, “Pakistan is a country affected not just by COVID-19. Our population is exposed to insecurity, natural disasters, and other emergencies. We are also battling polio, and our decade long efforts to eradicate this disease have now being impacted by COVID-19, as polio staff and resources are diverted to the pandemic response.”

He said Pakistan had made various achievements in battling COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. “We were able to significantly reduce transmission by July and August this year; however, like many countries around the world, easing of lockdowns resulted in a resurgence of cases in October. This required a strategic review of our response.”

Sultan said since the beginning of first case of COVID-19 on February 26, the WHO had played a key role in helping Pakistan, whether remotely, or though in-country missions. In October, a team from WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean visited Pakistan to review some of the lessons learned to strategize, offer technical guidance and recommendations for a stronger, more robust response to COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

He said there was a need for rapid review on what worked well and what needed to be improved for planning a more effective response to the pandemic. He said specific objectives that were set out for the mission included providing technical assistance in strategic planning in the short, middle and longer-term for the four pillars of the COVID-19 response.