–148 die in record single-day spike in 24 hours
–Punjab sees ‘drop’ in cases after smart lockdown
–Over 5,000 health workers infected across country
ISLAMABAD: Over 3,000 Covid-19 patients in Pakistan are in critical condition, authorities said on Thursday, as new cases in the country also increased after days of decline.
With 4,044 additions, Pakistan’s tally of coronavirus infections reached 191,970, putting the country at number 13 worldwide in terms of cases, according to the health ministry data.
The figure is slightly higher than Wednesday’s count of 3,892, which was the fifth day of declining infections in the country.
A total of 3,003 patients are in critical condition in hospitals across Pakistan, while recoveries increased by 3,553 to 81,307, the ministry said.
The daily fatality count also shot up on Thursday, more than doubling to 148 just a day after hitting a comparative low of 60.
The country’s death toll now stands at 3,903, the ministry said.
Some 1.17 million people have so far been tested in the country of over 200 million people, with 21,835 tests conducted over the past 24 hours.
Health experts believe the falling numbers are due to the locality-based lockdowns — termed “smart lockdowns” by the government — recently enforced in high-risk areas in 20 big cities.
However, local media reports suggest it could be because of reduced testing, with daily test numbers falling to less than 25,000 from over 32,000.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation advised Pakistan to impose a two-week strict lockdown, declaring the country the second-most vulnerable to the pandemic after neighboring Afghanistan.
The recommendation came as infections skyrocketed when the government lifted its lockdown restrictions of varying strictness in late May, ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al Fitr.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, however, rejected the UN body’s suggestion, saying “smart lockdowns” were the only possible option for Pakistan because it “is a poor country … [with] no choice but to reopen.”
PUNJAB SEES ‘DROP’ IN COVID-19 CASES, FATALITIES:
Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik was informed in a meeting on Thursday that the number of coronavirus cases and associated deaths saw a drop after a smart lockdown was enforced in Covid-19 hotspots across the province.
The attendees of the meeting held to take stock of the ongoing coronavirus crisis mulled over extending the scope of smart lockdown to protect previous lives from the highly-contagious disease. The officials who attended the meeting presented a report, stating that smart lockdown helped bring down Covid-19 cases and death rate in the province.
The chief secretary directed the participants to identify more areas affected by the infection and sent their report to him. Besides, the meeting decided to completely seal markets found violating the government-defined standard operating procedures (SOPs).
OVER 5,000 HEALTHCARE WORKERS INFECTED:
Over 5,000 doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have been infected by the deadly coronavirus to date in Pakistan, official data revealed on Thursday.
According to the daily tally of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, in Islamabad, a total of 5,164 healthcare providers had been infected as of June 24.
1,694 health workers were infected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,392 in Sindh, 1,099 in Punjab, 419 in Islamabad, 391 in Balochistan, 95 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 74 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Of the 5,164 professionals who have tested positive, over 3,000 are doctors.
To date, 56 healthcare workers have also died after being infected, with 21 in Sindh, 13 in Punjab, 10 in KP, five in Balochistan, four in Islamabad and three GB.
