Low mortality lessens Covid pressure

Country reports nine deaths in 24 hours, lowest in almost a year

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has reported nine coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, showing a further downward trend in the country’s Covid-19 graph in addition to the decreasing Covid positivity ratio.

The data relating to deaths shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) marks the first time the country recorded less than 10 daily fatalities in almost a year. The last time the country reported nine deaths was on November 8, 2020, as per NCOC statistics.

According to the past record and different waves of the microbe, such a trajectory doesn’t prove that the disease has been stamped out. Experts have stressed the need for necessary vaccination and implementation of standard operating procedures to break the chain reaction and stop virus resurgence in the country.

Moreover, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will transport 15 million Sinovac vaccines by five special aircraft from the Capital International Airport Beijing to Islamabad from October 29 to November 2.

“The national flag carrier will launch PAK-6857, PAK-6858, PK-6856, PK-6852 and PK-6853 respectively to transport Covid-19 vaccines from October 29 to November 2,” PIA Country Manager Qadir Bux Sangi told APP here on Monday. The other day, he added that a PIA special aircraft had brought three million doses of Covid-19 vaccines donated by China.

In a tweet, Pakistan Ambassador to China Moinul Haque said that China has played a vital role in Pakistan’s vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus and has so far provided the latter with 110 million doses of vaccines, making the “backbone” of Pakistan’s inoculation drive.

According to official data, Pakistan has so far received 130 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

The NCOC data further showed that the national tally of Covid-19 active cases was recorded 23,940 with 698 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 666 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours.

Most of the deaths occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) followed by Sindh. Out of the total nine deaths that occurred, four of them were under treatment on ventilators.

There were 1,524 Covid-19 infected patients under treatment in critical condition in various Covid dedicated healthcare facilities of the country.

“The national Covid positivity ratio during past 24 hours was recorded 1.65 per cent,” it showed.

The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities – including Gujranwala 18 per cent, Peshawar 25 per cent, Lahore 21 per cent and Multan 38 per cent.

The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per the medical requirement of Covid patient) was also occupied in four major cities of Swabi 31%, Bannu 25%, Sargodha 20% and Multan 36%. Around 218 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no Covid affected person was on a ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

Some 42,095 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday, including 17,710 in Sindh, 12,188 in Punjab, 8,305 in K-P, 2,944 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 374 in Balochistan, 302 G-B and 272 in AJK. Around 1,216,908 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)