ISLAMABAD: The nation on Saturday reported 3,876 new infections of the coronavirus after conducting 40,946 tests, registering a positivity ratio of 9.47 percent, a record this year.
In the last 24 hours, confirmed cases climbed to 623,135 while deaths increased by 42 to 13,799. At the same time, recoveries increased by 1,446 to 579,760, or 93 percent of total infections.
There are currently 29,576 active cases of Covid-19 in the country, with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data suggesting 2,122 of them are in critical condition.
In June, the national positivity rate was as high as 23 percent, but dropped to 1.7 percent by September. It then began to increase again, reaching 7.45 percent in January before dropping to 3 percent by mid-February and then climbing to 7.1 percent earlier this month.
Health experts and officials have confirmed the country is now facing a third wave of the coronavirus. In statements, they particularly expressed concern over the spread of the United Kingdom variant — said to be between 30 percent and 100 percent more deadly than previous dominant variants — of the disease.
Addressing a press briefing, State Minister for Health Dr Faisal Sultan said the transmission rate has jacked up in the last two weeks, urging people to strictly observe health guidelines to curtail the spread.
“We regularly monitor positivity ratio at national, provincial and city level[s] and when it increases, the burden on the healthcare sector also increases. The pressure is mounting in Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, and major urban centers in Punjab,” Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying.
Without disclosing the maker, he said two tranches of recently procured vaccines will reach Pakistan by end of this month.
Observing the South African variant of the disease, identified in December, was responsible for 80-90 percent of new cases there, Dr Sultan further said Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) will impose targeted travel restrictions to contain its spread.
He said that keeping in view the risk, targeted restrictions were imposed focusing on high-risk sectors with large-scale public gatherings. However, he observed poor administrative compliance with guidelines and restrictions was seen, urging provinces to take serious note of this.
The minister urged the front healthcare workers and those eligible to receive vaccine shots to protect themselves, as well as their loved ones, from the contagious disease.
Dr Sultan said better services are being ensured at Covid-19 vaccination centers to facilitate the senior citizens. He said keeping in view the overwhelming response from the elderly, the number of centers and their staffers are being increased.
The government launched the vaccination for the general public on March 10, starting with older people.
The drive will begin with a focus on the oldest people in the community, generally over the age of 80, Dr Sultan said at the time. “We will work our way down in the coming days.”
A breakdown of the total cases showed that 262,796 cases were detected in Sindh, 195,087 in Punjab, 78,653 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19,306 in Balochistan, 50,843 in Islamabad, 4,967 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 11,483 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K).
VACCINE RATES TO BE CAPPED:
Earlier this week, the government announced to reverse its decision to allow uncapped prices for Covid-19 vaccines imported by private firms, the health minister said — a move that coincided with the arrival of a first shipment of privately imported Russian Sputnik-V shots.
Largely reliant on the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative for developing nations, the government last month allowed private firms to import coronavirus vaccines and agreed to exempt them from price caps.
“Now, however, there is a formula, already in vogue, to determine maximum price,” Dr Sultan told Reuters. “So yes, there is a price cap that DRAP [Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan] will recommend and get approval for,” he said.
An official with AG Pharma Limited, the company that imported the Sputnik shots, said that the first shipment of 50,000 doses arrived on Wednesday night and that it will be made available to the public as soon as the government agreed on a price.
