March 12 , 2021
News
Alarm bells ringing as Pakistan’s daily Covid-19 tally crosses 2,000
* Positivity rate jumps to 5.36% as total number of active cases in country hits 17,627
* Lahore on top with 57.4% of total fresh cases reported in Punjab in 24 hours
A day after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) re-imposed restrictions to curb the growing spread of Covid-19 in the country, the country on Thursday reported more than 2,000 virus cases for the first time since January.
According to the official data, Pakistan recorded 2,258 cases during the last 24 hours, marking the first time the country has reported over 2,000 infections since January 29, when 2,186 cases were recorded. An NCOC press release stated that 42,164 tests were conducted on March 10, which translates into a positivity rate of 5.36 per cent, while the total number of active cases in the country is 17,627 as of March 11. Another 53 deaths from coronavirus were reported on Thursday across country.
According to the official portal, the number of deaths from coronavirus in the country has risen to 13,377, whereas, the total number of cases has climbed up to 597,497. In addition, 1,276 patients have recovered from the virus across the country during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 566,492.
Punjab has reported 1,290 coronavirus cases and 33 deaths during the past 24 hours. The provincial total has risen to 180,944 and the death toll is 5,662. This is the second straight day the province has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases. A day earlier, Punjab recorded 1,006 cases and 29 deaths.According to the Punjab health department’s data, 741 of the 1,290 cases (57.4pc) were reported in Lahore – the provincial capital. Rawalpindi and Faisalabad both reported 81 cases each, followed by 58 in Gujrat.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said that the public needed to practice precautionary measures in order to curb the spread of the disease. She stated that some parts of the province were reporting the British variant of the Covid-19 virus which was more contagious. “[Therefore] we think that the British strain is causing a spike in cases,” she said.
She added that it was important to relay this information to the public as some had taken the situation “very lightly”. “When the government decided to lift restrictions […] people stopped taking precautionary measures,” she said.The Punjab health minister also urged citizens over the age of 60 to register themselves for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said on Thursday that the provincial government may have to impose another lockdown if coronavirus cases keep on increasing in the province. For now, however, the minister said only a handful of cities have seen a rise in the coronavirus positivity ratio. “We may go towards a lockdown if the situation worsens,” Ghani told a private TV channel.
Speaking about the closure of schools, the minister noted that vacations have been announced for educational institutes in Peshawar and some cities of Punjab on account of a spring break. He added that Sindh did not announce the vacation as there is no concept of a spring break in the province.
Speaking about the Wednesday’s NCOC meeting, the provincial minister said that the provinces had opposed the idea of reopening schools to full capacity. He added that the provincial governments were trying to ensure that students’ education is not affected and exams are held on time.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk