Over 2m under smart lockdowns as Covid death toll tops 8,000

With 2,839 single-day tally, nationwide caseload nears 400,000

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan surpassed another grim milestone of 8,000 deaths from novel coronavirus, as the single-day tally of new cases stayed below the 3,000 mark for second consecutive day but the positivity ratio soared to an alarming level of more than 8.5%, according to the official data.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort against Covid-19 pandemic – reported that 40 virus patients died in the last 24 hours, raising the nationwide death toll to 8,025.

The daily update issued by the NCOC said that country reached on the verge of another grim milestone of 400,000 cases. it said that with emergence of 2,839 new Covid-19 cases, the national caseload since the disease first emerged in February topped 398,000.

Amid further worrying sign, the daily situational morning session was informed that national Covid-19 positivity ratio has surged to 8.53% as the pandemic treaded the upward trajectory.

To control the trend, the NCOC noted that at least 5,082 smart lockdowns were in place across the country.

The NCOC daily bulletin said that 2,839 new Covid cases were recorded in the past 54 hours, which increased the total number of active cases to 48,576. According the data, 2,046 coronavirus patients were in critical condition.

“The total active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan on Monday were recorded at 48,576 as 2,839 more people tested positive for the deadly virus during the last 24 hours. Forty corona patients, 37 of whom were under treatment in hospitals died,” the NCOC update. Some 33,302 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday.

It added that 341,423 people have recovered from the disease so far, making it a significant count of more than 86% recovery ratio.

“Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 398,024 cases were detected so far,” it added Of 8,025 deaths recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion, the NCOC said 2,924 people died in Sindh, 13 on Sunday; 2,991 in Punjab, 12 on Sunday; 1,368 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 9 on Sunday; 314 in Islamabad, 5 of on Sunday; 166 in Balochistan; 97 in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), and 165 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), one on Sunday.