Another 40 die of coronavirus: Karachi jail sets up isolation wards: No more food, beverages on domestic flights: Global cases reach 60.2m
our correspondent
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan has been witnessing consistent increase in daily coronavirus infections for the past few weeks, as the country recorded 3,306 Covid-19 cases and 40 deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday.
According to the NCOC, 40 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 7,843. The national tally of cases now stands at 386,198 with fresh inclusion of the infections.
The number of active cases stand at 43,963, as 334,392 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far. A total of 1,418 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours and 1,968 patients are in critical condition.
A total of 45,999 tests were conducted across the country during the last twenty-four hours, while 5,343,702 samples have been tested so far.
Meanwhile, Punjab has reported another spike in Covid-19 cases, confirming 720 infections in the last 24 hours. The province’s caseload has risen to 116,506.
It also marks the first time since July 10 that the province has reported more than 700 daily infections. It has confirmed 19 more fatalities in the last 24 hours as well, taking the death toll to 2,923 — the highest in Pakistan.
Sindh has reported 1,402 new Covid-19 cases and 19 deaths over the past 24 hours, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said. The total number of confirmed cases in the province, according to the Sindh government, is now 168,783. The death toll stands at 2,885. Additionally, 749 patients were reported to have recovered from the virus over the past day.
Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively recorded 673 coronavirus cases and seven additional fatalities. The breakdown is as follows: Islamabad, 576 cases and 6 deaths; GB has reported 10 cases; and AJK has reported 87 cases and one death.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 514 cases in the last 24 hours, marking the second time this week the province reported more than 500 daily infections. The provincial tally has risen to 45,828. The KP also reported five Covid-19 fatalities, taking the provincial death toll to 1,344.
Meanwhile, Balochistan confirmed 51 fresh infections and one more death. The province’s total cases stand at 16,942 while the number of fatalities has risen to 165.
The global tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has hit 60.2 million, with the pace of new infections accelerating and the United States reporting record numbers of hospitalisations.
An analysis of the data showed the rate of new infections picking up globally. It took just 17 days to go from 50 million cases to 60 million, compared with the 21 days it took to go from 40 million to 50 million . Around 580,000 cases have been reported each day over the past week and around half of all cases since the start of the pandemic were reported over the past 70 days. In Europe, one million new cases were recorded over just five days, for a total of more than 16m cases, including 365,000 deaths.
Meanwhile, following the increase in the coronavirus cases, isolation wards have been set up in Karachi Central Jail once again by the jail officials, besides deputing special staff on Thursday.
Jail officials said that isolation wards have been restored at the central jail and special staff members will be deputed in view of the Covid-19 spike. They said that coronavirus tests of the prisoners were being conducted before taking them to the Karachi central jail and only those were being allowed to be sent to the prison cells who have tested negative. Moreover, jail officials have also started distributing face masks and sanitizers among prisoners.
Meanwhile, the district administration Multan on Thursday decided to place two more areas under smart lockdown after a surge in Covid-19 cases.
In this context, the assistant commissioner Multan has penned a letter to the CPO, urging him to place Usman Colony and Siddiqia Block Islampura Chahkoraywala. Furthermore, areas including Naqshband Colony, Gulgasht Colony, Mepco Colony, Khawaja Abad, Multan Kutcheri and Sadat Colony are already under smart lockdown.
Meanwhile, amid rising cases of Covid-19 across the country, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has restrained airlines from offering meals and beverages on domestic flights. The move is aimed at stemming the second wave of the pandemic that has forced the authorities to close educational institutions, ban indoor weddings and dining and reduce business hours.
