ISLAMABAD: A surge of new coronavirus cases is taking a heavy toll in Pakistan as it reported 4,974 new infections on Thursday — the highest number of daily infections reported in nine months.
After June 20 last year, it was the second-highest toll in a day due to the coronavirus. In June, when the first wave was at its peak, over 5,900 infections were reported in a day.
According to the government portal keeping track of the outbreak in Pakistan, the contagion rate which soared to over 10 per cent a day earlier, inched down to 9.94 percent after conducting 50,055 tests.
With new infections, the number of confirmed cases climbed to 672,931. Meanwhile, deaths increased by 98 to 14,530 in the 24 hours.
At the same time, recoveries increased by 2,148 to 605,274, or 89.9 per cent of total cases. There are currently 53,127 active cases of coronavirus, with 3,303 of them are in critical condition.
IMRAN RULES OUT BLANKET LOCKDOWN:
While the country is wracked by a third wave of coronavirus, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday ruled out a general lockdown while acknowledging the rise in the positive cases.
“We have to adopt a balanced policy where the spread of the virus can be prevented and where the poor man and the country’s economy are least affected,” Imran told a National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting he chaired.
The government has opted for targeted restrictions — smart lockdowns, short-term restrictions imposed often at neighbourhood level — to try to tame the disease while keeping the economy afloat.
While federal and provincial governments have announced restrictions on gatherings, public transportation, and mask mandates, the measures have largely not been enforced.
The prime minister said that he would direct the government to reinforce the mask mandates.
Later in the day, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, who was also present during the meeting, said that an ambitious campaign was being launched to enforce coronavirus guidelines at public places to stem its spread.
MINORS FELL VICTIM TO THIRD WAVE:
Children and teens have also fallen prey to the third wave of coronavirus, it has emerged. On Wednesday, 121 children tested positive for coronavirus in Islamabad.
Most of the coronavirus-positive children are reported to be under 10 years of age.
Meanwhile, of two children, who were admitted to Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) a few days ago, one has been declared coronavirus-free.
The virus was transmitted to the nine-day-old from his mother. He was kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a few days, resulting in his recovery, the doctors said.
So far, 15 children have tested positive for the disease at the hospital so far.
VACCINATION CAMPAIGN:
Some 800,000 doses of vaccine have been administered across the country so far, all of them Sinopharm donated by China, Minister of State for National Health Services (NHS) Dr Faisal Sultan said.
He confirmed that half of another million doses bought from Sinopharm had arrived on Thursday.
The government is scrambling to get more vaccine as it awaits WHO/COVAX/GAVI allocations of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which have been delayed.
The authorities are planning to acquire enough of a concentrated form of the Chinese CanSino Biologics vaccine next month to locally produce 3 million doses.
“We are speeding up this process and want to take it to the next stage,” Dr Sultan said.
Pakistan has allowed the private sector to import and sell vaccine, but a legal dispute between the importer and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) over the price has delayed that mechanism.
