Only one Covid death reported in 24 hours

Pakistan on Saturday reported only one coronavirus death in the past 24 hours, the lowest number since April when the Covid-19 pandemic started claiming several lives on a daily basis – reflecting the country’s success in reining in the spread of the disease.

With the demise of a patient at a hospital in Sindh, the most affected province of the country, the coronavirus death toll in the country now stands at 6,284, according to figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Covid-19.

A total of 319 new cases were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients to 295,772. The number of active cases stands at 8,778 and recoveries have increased to 280,340. The recovery rate comes to around 95%.

As of Saturday morning, the NCOC said, 1,084 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals across the country. However, there was no Covid-19 patient on a ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan.

It added that 112 of the 1,920 ventilators reserved for Covid-19 patients were currently occupied.

On Friday, 22,434 tests were conducted – 5,247 in Sindh; 9,603 in Punjab; 3,556 in in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ; 3,004 in Islamabad; 473 in Balochistan; 276 in G-B and 275 in AJK.

The highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country so far have been reported in Sindh at 129,179, followed by 96,699 in Punjab, 35, 971 in K-P, 12,804 in Balochistan, 15,597 in Islamabad, 2,832 in G-B and 2,290 in AJK.

In Sindh, 2,395 people have died of coronavirus, followed by 2,195 in Punjab, 1,250 in K-P, 175 deaths in Islamabad, 141 in Balochistan, 67 in G-B and 61 in AJK.

After tireless strides, a total of 2,581,695 tests have been conducted in the country.

Six months after registering its first case, active cases in Pakistan are continuing to steadily decline, with the number of deaths recorded in a day coming down to single digits.

The world is widely acknowledging Prime Minister Imran Khan’s smart lockdown strategy, mainly focusing balance between lives and livelihood, as the country has witnessed a steep decline in the virus cases.

In a study, the Imperial College of London has ranked Pakistan at fourth for coronavirus reproduction in the country based on July 20 data. Pakistan has achieved 0.73 rate, keeping in view the countries getting below 1 rating are considered the best for their anti-Covid efforts.

Acknowledging Pakistan’s strategy, Al Jazeera reported: “Pakistan wins rare, fragile success against novel coronavirus. South Asian nation of 200 million seems to have won the fight against Covid-19.”

Wall Street Journal acknowledged Prime Minister Imran Khan's decision to ignore the World Health Organisation's advice pertaining to lockdowns, stating that lockdowns are too costly for the poor. He later decided to reopen businesses to save the country's economy.

Interestingly, countries including Germany and Portugal which rank above Pakistan are also advocating the concept of smart lockdown to prevent new surge in coronavirus infections.

Besides the administrative measures to ensure strict closure of hotspots, the prime minister repeatedly addressed the nation advising them for strict precautions to avert the disaster.

Earlier this month, the federal government allowed the reopening of restaurants, hotels, cinemas, beauty parlours, gyms and other businesses in the hospitality and recreational sectors in the wake of the decline in Covid-19 cases and fatalities.