The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic continues wreaking havoc in the country with 4,468 new cases and 67 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, showed the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data on Saturday.
Over two-thirds of the new cases, around 68 percent, have been reported from Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), which recorded 3,039 cases during the last 24 hours, according to the data. Meanwhile, out of 67 deaths countrywide, 45 (67.16 percent) occurred in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory.
The national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 649,824, while the death toll jumped to 14,158 since the first case of coronavirus reported in February last year.
The total count of active cases is 42,384 and the positivity rate stands at 10.09 percent. A total of 44,279 tests were conducted across the country during the last 24 hours. Since the detection of the first Covid-19 case in the country, overall 10,021,070 tests have been conducted.
Some 2,842 patients were stated to be in critical condition across the country, whereas 2,137 people recovered from the deadly disease during the last 24 hours. Overall 593,282 have regained their health from the Covid-19.
Punjab has reported 2,330 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said while chairing a meeting in Multan on coronavirus situation in the province on Saturday.
The chief minister said that 43 more patients of the disease have died, which increased the overall death toll by coronavirus to 6188.
He said that the total tally of active cases in Punjab has reached 21,311. He said that in the last 24 hours 16,473 tests were conducted while 2,330 new cases of the disease were detected.
The chief minister expressed concern over the soaring cases of coronavirus and directed for strict implementation of the SOPs. The third wave of the pandemic is more lethal, he said, adding that the disease can be subdued with the cooperation of the people.
He advised citizens to wear masks compulsorily while going out of their homes.
Meanwhile, a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases was witnessed in the federal capital as the District Health Officer (DHO) confirmed the rise in positivity rate to 10.7 percent on Saturday.
The DHO said in a statement that 709 coronavirus cases were reported in 24 hours. The positivity rate of coronavirus cases has crossed the 10 percent mark, whereas the number of deaths reached 557 including two deaths in the past 24 hours.
A total of 55,056 cases were recorded in the federal capital so far and 62 percent of ventilators are currently occupied by patients.
In Sindh, at least 252 new coronavirus cases were recorded during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 264,606.
According to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, four patients succumbed to the virus taking the total death toll at 4,491. He said that 160 more patients had recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total to 255,671. He added that 4,444 patients are under treatment in the province out of which 249 are in critical condition.
