Corona kills 23 people

ISLAMABAD: The national tally on Monday of active COVID-19 cases was recorded 32,153 with 735 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 784 people recovering from the disease during the 24 hours.

Twenty-three corona patients have died during the 24 hours, out of which 23 were under treatment in hospitals, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Sindh. Out of 23 deaths, 11 patients died on the ventilator. There were 1,946 infected patients under treatment in critical condition in various healthcare facilities of the country.

The national positivity ratio during past 24 hours was recorded 1.78 percent. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities including Islamabad 22 percent, Lahore 19 percent, Bahawalpur 20 percent and Multan 27 percent.

Around 253 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country, while no affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB). Around 41,133 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday, including 11,419 in Sindh, 17,131 in Punjab, 9,187 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 1,989 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 603 in Balochistan, 402 in GB, and 402 in AJK.

Around 901,985 people have recovered so far across Pakistan, making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio. Since the pandemic broke out, a total of 956,392 cases have been detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 20,256, Balochistan 27,083, GB 6,060, ICT 82,619, KP 137,831, Punjab 346,036 and Sindh 336,507.

Around 22,254 deaths have been recorded in the country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 5,427 people perished in Sindh, 10,740 in Punjab, 4,311 in KP, 776 in ICT, 307 in Balochistan, 111 in GB and 582 in AJK.

A total of 14,502,023 tests have been conducted so far, while 639 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities across the country. Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Tuesday said Pakistan had so far received 21.13 million doses of different types of COVID-19 vaccines out of which over 17 million doses were procured on payment.

This was briefed during the NCOC session chaired by the National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan here. The forum discussed the roll-out plan of three million doses of SinoVac vaccine which arrived from China on Tuesday through procurement plan for the month of June.

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz Satti briefed the forum on efforts put in for procurement plan of vaccines out of allotted budget of $1.2 billion. The forum expressed satisfaction over the availability of vaccine in the country.

It was also once again reiterated that all the federating units could procure vaccine at their end. The forum expressed concerns over the rising positivity of disease in GB and emphasised stringent implementation of SOPs with regard to tourism in the northern region. It was reiterated that the federating units had the discretion of planning summer holidays in their respective education institutions.