By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The number of total active Covid-19 cases in the country inched up to 8,873 from 8,801 during the last 24 hours, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data on Monday.
According to the NCOC, 213 more people tested positive for Covid-19 during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus patients in the country to 295,849. So far 280,682 people have recovered across Pakistan making it a significant count.
Meanwhile, six more people lost their lives during the aforementioned period.
A total of 18,017 tests were conducted on August 30. 5,625 in Sindh; 5,920 in Punjab; 3,134 in KP; 2,740 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT); 172 in Balochistan; 256 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB); and 170 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The NCOC said that there is no patient on ventilator in AJK, GB and Balochistan. A total of 98 patients are on ventilators across Pakistan out of 1920 ventilators allocated for Covid-19 patients.
Earlier, Pakistan reported the lowest daily number of Covid-19 cases in 4 months on August 30, when 186 new infections were reported in a day. The country reported its first case of the deadly virus on February 26 and went into a three-week lockdown in late March.
In the subsequent months, the caseload kept climbing, peaking at 6,825 new cases in a single day on June 13. While it recorded 153 deaths, its highest to date, on June 19.
However, in the last month, Pakistan’s daily infections and fatalities have dropped significantly. On August 30, it recorded only 213 new cases in a day, and six deaths across the country, while it sampled 18,017 tests.
The August 30 figure is the lowest tally since April 10, when 186 new infections were reported in a day. Recently, Dr Faisal Sultan, said that while the decline is a promising sign, he remains cautious.
Meanwhile, The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Monday was apprised that first time after May the number of COVID patients on ventilators had declined below 100 which was propitious. The NCOC meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar discussed Muharram management plan and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) complaince and opening up of educational institutions.
