ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded 6,127 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily number since June last year, data from the Ministry of National Health Services (MoNHS) showed on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 756,285.
On June 14, during the first peak, the nation had reported 6,365 cases. With the new cases, the transmission rate climbed to 8.52 percent.
Statistics 18 April 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 71,836
Positive Cases: 6,127
Positivity % : 8.52%
Deaths : 149— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) April 18, 2021
The average number of new infections reported each day has risen by more than 1,000 over the last 3 weeks, 18 percent of its previous peak, a Reuters tally showed.
The data also showed 149 people died due to coronavirus-related complications in the same period, bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in February last year to 16,243.
Meanwhile, Punjab detected 3,562 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day rise since the start of the pandemic. The provincial tally of cases has now reached 267,572.
97 more people died from the contagion disease in the province, taking the total number of fatalities to 7,430.
Government and health officials warn that if the ongoing pace of infections continues for another two weeks, the situation may get worse, as the country’s already weak healthcare system is near saturation.
In several district hospitals, nearly 90 per cent of ventilators and oxygen beds are already occupied, while some hospitals are turning away new patients as 100 per cent of beds allocated for coronavirus patients are already taken, according to MoNHS officials.
VACCINATION OF PEOPLE IN 50-59 AGE GROUP:
As cases increased and the country reported over 100 fatalities in a single day for the fifth consecutive day, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday announced to start vaccinating people aged 50 to 59 from April 21.
“Decision taken in today’s NCOC meeting to start vaccination of people in the age group of 50 to 59 from Wednesday the 21st of April. Would once again encourage everyone to register for the vaccination,” Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar tweeted.
The government had launched the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination for the general public, starting with older people, in March. The drive began with a focus on the oldest people in the community, generally over the age of 80.
Pakistan has largely relied on donated or imported Chinese vaccines, which had been offered only to health workers and elderly people. But they have not responded in overwhelming numbers to the vaccination campaign, prompting officials to offer the vaccines to a younger cohort.
Pakistan hopes to receive 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses through the UN-backed COVAX programme by next month.
Last week, Asad had said that increased restrictions, broader lockdowns, and strong enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) have started to give dividends.
The rising trend of positivity rate has been flattened, but the number of critical patients and mortality will stay at high levels for some time due to the momentum of the last two weeks, he had said.
So far, more than 1 million people have been vaccinated, and the total number of people who have registered themselves for vaccination is now over 2 million, according to the minister.
Private hospitals in major cities have also started inoculation with Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine imported by a private pharmaceutical company.
Health experts believe that the variant of Covid-19 initially discovered in the United Kingdom has been behind the surge in the number of infections in the country.
“The new variant seemed to be more contagious and deadly, and the only way we can control it is to shut all kinds of activities that may play role in the spread of the disease,” Ejaz Ahmad Khan, an infectious disease specialist at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, told Xinhua.
He said that the government is trying hard to control the situation, but the cooperation of the Pakistani people is also very important. “Solely, the government cannot take control of this fatal disease without our help.”
