Single-day Covid tally hits 1,400

Foreign travellers to get US-donated vaccine shots

ISLAMABAD:

The government announced on Saturday that the 2.5 million doses of Moderna anti-Covid vaccine donated by the US government would be administered to those Pakistanis, who intended to travel abroad on work or student visa.

The announcement by Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the government strategy to combat the global pandemic, came a day after the authorities received the consignment from the US. The announcement also comes at time when the Covid-19 pandemic showed signs of increase, again.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said in its daily update of the disease on Saturday that the single-day tally of coronavirus cases hit 1,400 level for the first time since June 7, pushing the national tally of active cases above 32,000 and the national positivity ratio to nearly 3%.

Read: Pakistan receives 2.5m Moderna jabs from US

Umar, the head of the NCOC said on microblogging website, Twitter, that he appreciated the “progressive policy on Covid” of the US President Joe Biden and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Received 2.5 million doses of moderna sent by US govt. This will [be] particularly [administered to] those who have to travel for work or study to countries which are only accepting certain vaccines,” Umar wrote on his Twitter account.

Active cases rise

Meanwhile, the NCOC said that the national tally of active cases surged to 32,319, as 1,400 more people tested positive for the virus, while 957 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours. The national positivity ration, it added, was 2.91%.

According to the daily update, 2,111 patients were admitted to various covid dedicated healthcare facilities of the country, including 1,871 in critical condition – 212 on ventilators. Eight patients were admitted during the past 24 hours.

According to the daily update, 34 patients, 31 of whom were under treatment in the hospitals, including 17 on ventilators, died during past 24 hours. The NCOC said that most of the deaths, 17, occurred in Sindh, followed by 6 in Punjab.

Some 48,027 tests were conducted across the country on Friday, including 16,985 in Sindh, 16,973 in Punjab, 9,399 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 2,225 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,121 in Balochistan, 634 in Gilgit Baltistan (G-B), and 690 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Read more: Dr Faisal hails arrival of 2.5m Moderna vaccine doses

The national caseload of the disease rose to 961,085, including AJK 20,458, Balochistan 27,295, G-B 6,331, ICT 82,845, K-P 138,306, Punjab 346,582 and Sindh 339,268. Among them 906,387 people have recovered from the disease, making it a significant recovery ratio of over 94%.

About 22,379 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion in February last year—5,497 people perished in Sindh, 10,767 in Punjab, 4,329 in K-P, 779 in ICT, 310 in Balochistan, 111 in G-B and 586 people in AJK.

Meanwhile, The Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare department has taken notice of fake entries at Covid-19 vaccination centres and constituted a fact-finding committee to monitor vaccine stocks, according to a press release issued on Saturday.

"Amid Covid-19 mass vaccination drive in Punjab, it was discovered that vaccinators and data entry operators were doing fake entries," the healthcare department secretary said. “The committee will also work on ways to improve the vaccination drive,” the press release added.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)