The country on Monday surpassed half a million mark of recovered coronavirus patients with national tally of total active Covid-19 cases recorded at 33,493 as 1,615 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 1,278 people recovered from the disease.
Twenty-six patients, 24 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and two in their respective homes or quarantines, died, according to the latest update issued by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of total 26 deaths, 15 patients died on ventilators. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 41 percent, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 37 percent, Peshawar 28 percent and Lahore 35 percent. The maximum oxygen beds were also occupied in four major areas of Peshawar 42 percent, Multan 34 percent, Karachi 35 percent and Bahawalpur 27 percent. Around 283 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
Some 34,785 tests were conducted across the country during last 24 houre including 11,031 in Sindh, 11,431 in Punjab, 6,077 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5,059 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 438 in Balochistan, 400 in GB, and 349 in AJK. Around 501,252 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients.
Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 546,428 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 9,019, Balochistan 18,823, GB 4,909, ICT 41,418, KP 67,214, Punjab 157,796 and Sindh 247,249. About 11,683 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 3,996 perished in Sindh among four of them died on Sunday. Three of them died in hospital and one out of the hospital. Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar has quarantined himself after testing positive for coronavirus. Hammad Azhar tweeted, “I have tested positive for Covid-19 and self-isolating at home. Requesting everyone for prayers. JazakAllah Khair.”
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain is in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in Britain, apparently after contracting Covid-19, it emerged on Monday. Hussain, who has been living in the UK in self-imposed exile since 1991, in an audio message released through his party’s social media channels on Saturday (Jan 30) stated that he had been under treatment for nearly three weeks. “I have been in the ICU in hospital for the last 20 days. It is due to your (supporters’) prayers that I have been able to record this message on this day of Saturday, Jan 30, 2021,” the MQM leader said in the audio. Hussain urged his followers to continue praying for him, saying he would speak to them again after recovering. “May Allah protect everyone from this disease, Covid-19,” he said, and appealed to listeners to “take precautions and help each other”. The federal government has decided to launch countrywide anti-Covid vaccination drive from February 3. All measures for the vaccination drive have been finalised. The government has decided to swiftly distribute the China-gifted vaccine to the federating units to start the vaccination process.
