'Over 75,000 active Covid-19 cases in the country'

Currently, 5,546 patients admitted to various hospitals

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan currently has more than 75,000 active cases of coronavirus, as the nationwide tally of infections topped 110,000 on Wednesday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was informed during a regular daily meeting on Wednesday morning.

The NCOC, headed by Planning Minister Asad Umar, serves as the nerve centre of the country’s unified fight against the global pandemic. The meeting was also informed that out of these active cases, 5,546 had been admitted to different hospitals.

With 5,385 new cases the total active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan were 75,139 on June 9 (Tuesday), said a statement issued after the meeting. It said a total of 113,702 cases had so far been registered, while 36,308 patients had recovered.

So far, 2,255 deaths had been reported, including 83 on Tuesday, according to the statement. Giving a breakdown of the fatalities, the statement said 696 deaths occurred in Sindh, 807 in Punjab, 610 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 57 in Islamabad, 62 in Balochistan, 14 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 9 in Azad Kashmir.

The meeting was also informed that 23,799 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the country during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests to 754,252 since the disease emerged in the country in the last week of February.

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The meeting was also informed that 776 hospitals were providing Covid-19 facilities, adding that the centre had geared up its preparations to deal with any contingency. “Some 1,000 additional oxygenated beds would be provided to various hospitals by the end of June,” the statement said.

It added that 250 additional ventilators had been provided to four provinces, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. In Azad Kashmir, 379 beds had been allocated for Covid-19 patients, while the number of allocated oxygenated beds for Covid-19 was 68.

In Balochistan, as many 2,148 beds had been dedicated to Covid-19 patients along with 68 oxygenated beds and 29 ventilators. The meeting was informed that at present there was no patient on the ventilator.

Similarly, 151 beds had been allocated to Covid-19 patients in Gilgit-Baltistan – 43 oxygenated along with 28 ventilators. In Islamabad, 520 beds, 262 bed with oxygen, 94 ventilators had been allocated. Only 10 patients were on ventilator in the federal capital.

Also 5,110 beds, 628 beds with oxygen, 313 ventilators had been allocated for Covid-19 patients in In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 70 patients were on ventilators, as of Tuesday. In Punjab, the data was 9,276 beds, 3,500 beds with oxygen, and 387 ventilators. At present, 159 patients were on ventilators.

In Sindh 8,094 beds, 548 beds with oxygen, 304 ventilators had been dedicated for the virus patients, so far, 83 patients were on ventilators in the province, the NCOC meeting was informed. Portable ventilators provided. Besides, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), had also provided 90 more portable ventilators to the country’s hospitals. The NDMA said in a statement that these ventilators could be installed in ambulances and moved from one bed to another as required.

The NDMA said that Punjab and Sindh were given 25 portable ventilators each, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were given 15 and 10 ventilators, respectively. Five portable ventilators were provided to hospitals in Azad Kashmir and five in Islamabad, while Gilgit-Baltistan had already received different types of ventilators along with five portable ventilators.