Pakistan reports another highest single-day Covid-19 tally

Number of new cases over the previous 24-hour period highest in nine months

 

In the grip of a third Covid-19 wave, the national daily coronavirus tally crossed 4,000 for the first time since last July, prompting the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to convene on Saturday to discuss ways to stem the pandemic spread.

The special meeting of the NCOC, the nerve centre of the government unified effort against the global pandemic review the coronavirus situation in the country, particularly a dangerous escalation in cases in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.

In its regular meeting on Friday, according to an NCOC press release, the forum noted major violations of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the transport sector, wedding ceremonies, restaurants and some commercial activities.

The NCOC report 4,368 new cases during the past 24 hours, raising the number of active Covid cases past 40,000 on Saturday. The single-day tally of new infections is the highest since 4,339 cases were reported on July 1, 2020.

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According to the daily update of the disease, 63 patients died in the past 24 hours, raising the nationwide death toll to 14,091. As of Friday, the national caseload of the disease was 645,356, including 591,145, recoveries.

The NCOC bulletin said 2,170 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, adding that among the 40,120 active Covid-19 cases, 3,333 patients were still hospitalised to 631 hospitals across the country, with 2,758 of them in critical condition.

Coronavirus first emerged in the country in February last year. The first wave of the disease started ebbing in July but the cases spiked again towards the end of the year, which the experts dubbed as the second wave.

There is a fresh increase in the new infections since the advent of March. On March 12, Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, attributed the spike to the UK strain of the virus, calling it the third wave of the pandemic, which saw 64,000 cases, so far, in March.

Earlier this week, the government said existing Covid-19 restrictions would continue for at least three more weeks. They include "broader lockdowns" in high-risk areas, with no movement allowed, except for emergencies. Educational institutes have also been closed in virus hotspots until April 11.

The NCOC held its regular morning session on Friday, chaired by Asad Umar. The forum reviewed the overall pandemic situation, particularly against the backdrop of the recent spike in the new infections on a daily basis.

The meeting directed the provincial administrations to strictly implement the SOPs. It decided that a special meeting would be held on Saturday (today) regarding the growing number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The meeting will be attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the commission of Islamabad Capital Territory via video link. All the provincial Health secretaries will also attend the special session.

Vaccination drive

The special meeting will review the status of implementation of increasing cases and the implementation of the SOPs. Besides availability of oxygen beds, ventilators and related medical facilities at designated hospitals and the ongoing vaccination drive will also be reviewed.

The country's vaccination drive began with the frontline healthcare workers in February. On March 10, the second phase was launched for people over 60. The NCOC decided that registration of people over 50 years of age will begin on March 30.

“Registration of those who are 50 plus for covid vaccination will be opened on march 30th. Registration of those who are 60 and older has already been open. Encourage everybody who is 50 plus to register when the registration is opened for them on 30th,” Umar tweeted after the meeting.