ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday announced that China would send 500,000 more doses of coronavirus vaccine for Pakistan’s frontline workers and senior citizens.
Talking to the media after the launch of the celebrations of the establishment of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations along with Chinese State State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he said that China had already gifted 500,000 doses of vaccine Sinopharm to the Pakistani nation for its frontline health workers.
Both the countries would tackle the coronavirus pandemic together, he added.
Qureshi said that ties between Pakistan and China had deepened further. The two countries would hold a series of events to celebrate the establishment of diplomatic relations, he added.
At the event, a logo was also launched to mark the start of celebrations.
Thanking the Chinese government and his counterpart, Qureshi said that the two countries were determined to move forward together as their bilateral relations were based on mutual trust.
Separately, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday was told that the private sector pharmaceutical companies and healthcare facilities have applied with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to import Covid vaccine where the process was underway.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid announced that after the vaccination of frontline health workers, the process of vaccinating the rest of the public against coronavirus will start soon.
During a Punjab Assembly session, the provincial minister said that 17 million coronavirus vaccines have been ordered after which the process of vaccinating the general public will begin.
PML-N MPA Samira Komal got angry over the utilisation of funds and said that funds were being squandered by the Punjab health authorities.
Responding to Komal’s allegations, Rashid said that the opposition has an old habit of “whining”.
Separately, the NCOC meeting, chaired by National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan, took a detailed review of epidemic curve chart data and national vaccine strategy.
The forum was briefed that private entities had applied for the authorisation to import Covid vaccine whereas the federal cabinet had also given its assent for the private sector to procure Covid vaccine and administer it at fixed prices.
The forum was informed that over 181,000 front line healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far. However, average daily vaccination needs to be enhanced to achieve desired results of the national vaccination drive, it added.
The forum was told that the provinces were improving their daily vaccinations with varying ratios which would help in meeting the set targets.
The national tally on Tuesday of total active Covid-19 cases recorded 22,184 with 1,163 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 1,035 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours.
42 coronavirus patients have died during the past 24 hours, wherein 41 of them were under treatment in hospital and one in their respective quarantines and homes on Monday, according to the latest update issued by the NCOC.
Out of the total 42 deaths, 12 people had died under treatment on ventilators.
During the last 24 hours, most of the deaths had occurred in Punjab followed by KP.
The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 18 per cent, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 30 per cent, Peshawar 20 per cent and Lahore 34 per cent.
The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per the medical requirement of the patient) was also occupied in Four major areas of Gujrat 94 per cent, Peshawar 38 per cent, Lahore 24 per cent and ICT 23 per cent.
Around 210 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no coronavirus patient was on a ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
Some 31,948 tests were conducted across the country on Monday, including 7,315 in Sindh, 13,616 in Punjab, 6,021 in KP, 3,836 in Islamabad, 369 in Balochistan, 315 in GB, and 476 in AJK.
Around 547,406 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients.
Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 582,528 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 10,280, Balochistan 19,066, GB 4,956, Islamabad 44,516, KP 72,615, Punjab 172,683 and Sindh 258,412.
About 12,938 deaths were recorded in the country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 4,353 perished in Sindh among three of them died during past 24 hours. Two in the hospital and one out of the hospital.
5,391 in Punjab had died with 28 deaths in past 24 hours occurred in the hospital. 2,085 in KP where six of them died in hospital on Monday, 501 in Islamabad, 200 in Balochistan, 102 in GB and 306 in AJK among five of them succumbed to the deadly virus in hospital on Monday.
A total of 9,022,124 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far, while 631 hospitals are equipped with coronavirus facilities. Some 1,973 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospitals across the country.
