-Smart lockdowns better than shutting down all schools, says Punjab Minister
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Another 2,443 people tested positive for the deadly virus during the last 24 hours, as the number of total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Sunday were reached 26,538.
22 corona patients, 27 of whom were under treatment in hospital and five out of hospital died on Saturday, according to the latest update issued by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
No COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan, while 196 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in Pakistan, out of 1,859 allocated for COVID-19 patients.
Some 39,410 tests were conducted across the country on Saturday, including 13,320 in Sindh, 12,639 in Punjab, 4,204 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 7,420 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 754 in Balochistan, 310 in GB, and 763 in AJK.
Around 323,225 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients.
Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 356,904 cases were detected so far, including AJK 5,349, Balochistan 16,393, GB 4,447, ICT 23,994, KP 41,990, Punjab 109,993 and Sindh 154,738.
About 7,141 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion, including 2,738 Sindh among 12 of them died in hospital and four out of hospital on Saturday, 2,471 in Punjab eight of them died in hospital and one out of hospital on Saturday, 1,309 in KP four of them died in hospital on Saturday, 255 in ICT among two of them died in hospital on Saturday, 156 in Balochistan one of them died in hospital on Saturday, 93 in GB and 119 in AJK.
A total of 4,921,050 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 735 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities. Some 1,569 corona patients were admitted in hospitals across the country.
meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said that instead of taking an across-the-board decision to shut down schools to contain the spread of the coronavirus, imposing the government’s recommended ‘smart lockdowns’ is a better choice.
In a Twitter update, the minister said that a meeting of all provincial education ministers will be held on Monday, November 16, to discuss the prevailing condition of coronavirus in the country. He added that he will provide further updates related to the decisions after the meeting.
The Monday meeting was announced by the Minister for Education and Vocational Training Shafqat Mahmood earlier this week.
