Virus tide upticks to 123,500 cases

By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai

ISLAMABAD: The countrywide tally of coronavirus cases has surged to 123,536 with 38,391 patients having cured of the disease and 2,356 virus-related deaths.
So far, 45,463 cases have been detected in Punjab, 43,790 in Sindh, 15,206 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7,335 in Balochistan, 6,236 in Islamabad, 488 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,018 in Gilgit Baltistan, according to data released by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).
With 101 more Covid-19 related fatalities recorded over the past 24 hours, the number of people succumbing to the disease in the country has jumped to 2,356 so far. A total of 5,834 new cases were detected when 26,573 new tests were conducted during this period.
The number of people defeating the deadly virus has reached 38,391. So far,780,825 tests have been conducted across the country.
Earlier, on June 10, Special Assistant to PM on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza had said the government is pursuing a holistic strategy to combat coronavirus.
In a statement on Wednesday with reference to the WHO letter, he said: “We have made the best sovereign decisions in the best interest of our people. He said we have to make tough policy choices to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods.”
Zafar Mirza said Pakistan has consciously but gradually eased generalized lockdowns but at the same time it has focused on enforcement of SOPs in shops, industries, mosques, and public transport etc. Punjab province recorded 2,003 new COVID-19 cases in the province during the last 24 hours, raising the provincial virus tally to 45,463.
According to statistics provided by the provincial health department, 34 more people lost their lives in the province while battling COVID-19. The total number of patients who succumbed to the virus has reached 841 in the province.
The province has so far performed 317,893 virus tests. The number of recoveries in the province stands at 9,005. The countrywide tally of coronavirus cases has surged to 119,536 with 38,391 patients having cured of the disease and 2,356 virus-related deaths.
So far, 45,463 cases have been detected in Punjab, 43,790 in Sindh, 15,206 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7,335 in Balochistan, 6,236 in Islamabad, 488 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,018 in Gilgit Baltistan, according to data released by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).
National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) apprised on Thursday that over 61 percent ventilators allocated for COVID -19 were still vacant and available at across country hospitals. NCOC was apprised that not a single patient was on the ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Some 1,584 non COVID ventilators were available across the country to meet any emergency.
Of the total 1,400 ventilators reserved for COVID-19, only 368 ventilators have been occupied till date.
Some 5,838 patients have been admitted in 779 hospitals with COVID-19.
The highest 26,573 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in country in last 24 hours.
Furthermore 25 portable ventilators had been despatched to Karachi by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) during last 48 hours.