Covid-19 claims 98 lives, infects 4,974 more in 24 hours

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The national tally on Thursday of total active COVID-19 cases was recorded at 53,127 with 4,974 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 2,148 people recovering from the disease during the last 24 hours. Ninety-eight corona patients have died during the past 24 hours, 88 of whom were under treatment in hospital and 10 out of the hospital in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

During the last 24 hours, most of the deaths had occurred in the Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Out of the total 98 deaths that occurred during last 24 hours, 29 of the deceased had died on ventilators during their treatment. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas, including Multan, 67 percent, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 64 percent, Gujranwala, 60 percent, and Lahore 67 percent. The maximum Oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of COVID patient) were also occupied in four major areas of Swat, 100 percent, Gujranwala, 85 percent, Peshawar, 84 percent, and Gujrat, 74 percent.

Around 419 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.

Some 50,055 tests were conducted across the country on Wednesday, including 9,634 in Sindh, 22,624 in Punjab, 8,672 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 7,564 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 367 in Balochistan, 312 in GB, and 882 in AJK.

Around 605,274 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 672,931 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 12,805, Balochistan 19,576, GB 5,033, ICT 58,557, KP 88,099, Punjab 223,181 and Sindh 265,680. About 14,530 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion.

Around 4,502 have perished in Sindh among five of them dies on hospital in past 24 hours. 6,427 in Punjab had died with 62 deaths occurred in past 24 hours. 54 of them in the hospital and eight out of hospital.

2,363 in KP where 20 of them died in hospital and one out of hospital on Wednesday, 572 in ICT among four deaths in hospital during past 24 hours, 208 in Balochistan among one of them died in the hospital on Wednesday, 103 in GB and 572 in AJK among two of them succumbed to the deadly virus in hospital and one out of hospital on Wednesday.

A total of 10,247,374 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 631 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities. Some 3,901 corona patients were admitted in hospitals across the country.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi District Administration, including Regional Transport Authority (RTA), has conducted 134 raids at different routes and impounded 110 Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) besides imposing fines amounting to Rs2,26,000 on those violated coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Punjab government to contain spread of coronavirus.

According to a District Administration spokesman, the administration had conducted a large number of raids at PSVs at different routes to check implementation of the SOPs. 110 vehicles were impounded during last seven days besides penalising the violators with fines amounting to 2,26,000, he added.

He informed that RTA Rawalpindi teams had also been directed to launch an operation against PSVs and impound vehicles of the coronavirus SOPs violators. The authority was conducting raids to ensure implementation of the SOPs to contain spread of coronavirus. RTA squads constituted to check implementation of the SOPs had accelerated their raids.

Mobile squads were also performing duties at different public transport terminals and at various routes to facilitate the people, he added. He said, the operation would continue and the vehicles found involved in violating the SOPs would be imposed fines or impounded.