ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday recorded its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 infections since April, with over 5,000 new cases and 62 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, government data showed.
According to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the government’s central body dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, out of 56,965 tests conducted until Sunday, 5,026 people had tested positive for COVID-19, while the positivity rate rose to 8.82 percent.
Statistics 1 Aug 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 56,965
Positive Cases: 5026
Positivity % : 8.82%
Deaths : 62— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) August 1, 2021
With infection numbers beginning to rise again, the South Asian country of over 220 million people has ramped up its vaccination efforts, administering over 30 million doses so far.
People wait to get themselves inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 30, 2021. (AFP)
“Pakistan has crossed 3 crore [30 million] vaccinations. The first crore [10 million] took 113 days. The second 28 days and the 3rd only 16 days,” Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
“Pace has rapidly increased. All 6 days this week were a record. 9 lakh 34 thousand vaccinations yesterday. In last 6 days 5 million vaccinations were done,” he added.
Pakistan has crossed 3 crore vaccinations. The first crore took 113 days. The second 28 days and the 3rd only 16 days. Pace has rapidly increased. All 6 days this week were a record. 9 lakh 34 thousand vaccinations yesterday . In last 6 days 5 million vaccinations were done.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) August 1, 2021
Pakistan has reported 1,034,837 COVID-19 cases and 23,422 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic last year.
Late on Saturday, Punjab’s government announced smart lockdowns in 13 areas of the province’s second-largest city of Lahore after recording an uptick in the positivity ratio.
Earlier, on Saturday, authorities had imposed a lockdown in the southern Sindh province as well, including in its commercial hub of Karachi and other urban centers, until August 8 amid an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases.
Last month, Pakistan said it was easing wide-ranging coronavirus restrictions after a steady decline in infections facilitated by strict lockdowns and an accelerated vaccination drive.
