Pakistan reported yesterday a record number of 2,255 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, as the spread of the infection through local transmission showed a dangerous upward trajectory, in a recent report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Pakistan chapter.
The report presented a dismal picture in terms of local transmission cases in Pakistan, province by province, on a weekly basis.
The report showed that Baluchistan had the highest rate of local transmission, at 93%, and only 7% were imported cases.
At second was Sindh, where 92% were local transmissions and 8% imported cases.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 84% were instances of the virus being locally spread, while 16% cases were foreign.
In the worst-hit Punjab, 15% were foreign cases and 85% of the reported cases had emerged through local transmission.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, 37% were imported cases and 63% were of local transmission.
Meanwhile, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 17% were foreign cases while 83% were passed on locally.
Pakistan’s testing capacity has faced a downward trajectory after peaking at an estimated 13,000 on May 9, according to the report.
On May 10-11, the number of tests dropped, fluctuating between 11,000 to 10,000.
The report said that Pakistan had 1,140 new cases of the coronavirus on May 11, which showed a 42.71% reduction in the number of cases reported on May 9, which was 1,991.
The number of cases reported since the beginning of the outbreak was 32,081, with 706 deaths (as per the report’s filing time).
According to the breakdown, 6,661 were confirmed cases of hospitalisation, with 281 reportedly in a critical condition.
The report estimated that 16,159 were positive cases either at home or isolation facilities.
It also said that 26.66% of the total cases, which stands at 8,555, were discharged after recovery.
Meanwhile, it was reported that as many as 379 more Pakistani nationals returning from various countries on the last 24 special flights between April 28 and May 8 have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The special flights had brought 4,344 overseas Pakistanis home.
The official record shows that a total of 7,756 Pakistanis have returned from abroad on 43 flights from April 14 to May 10.
Of them, 682 passengers were infected with the coronavirus.
A majority have been discharged after recovering at quarantine centres and hospitals.
However, the results of tests on 760 passengers, who arrived from Dubai in Faisalabad and Multan on May 10, are still awaited.
Many of the Pakistani nationals recently brought home from Dubai were infected, according to official figures.
As many as 188 Pakistanis were brought from Dubai in Multan on May 1, and 63 tested positive for the coronavirus.
Of the total repatriated Pakistanis, 3,054 were brought home on May 1-8, and 296 of them tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
According to the data, 290 Pakistanis were brought home from Muscat and Dubai to Faisalabad, and tests confirmed that 25 of them were infected.
On May 1, special flights brought 533 Pakistanis home from Jeddah and London to Lahore, and only two of them were infected.
Similarly, 290 Pakistanis reached Faisalabad from Dubai on special flights on May 4, and 57 of them were confirmed as Covid-19 patients.
Again on May 4, 289 Pakistanis were brought to Lahore from Dubai and Sri Lanka, and 15 of them tested positive for the coronavirus.
Out of 124 Pakistanis brought from Tanzania to Multan on May 5, 13 were infected.
On May 6, a special flight landed at Lahore international airport with 264 passengers; 27 of them tested positive for the coronavirus.
The flights brought 285 Pakistanis from Dubai to Faisalabad on May 7, and 23 of them were infected.
Similarly, 279 Pakistani citizens arrived in Lahore from Dubai on May 7, and 44 of the returnees were found to have been infected with the coronavirus.
On May 8, 252 Pakistanis reached Lahore from Dubai. Their samples sent later to laboratories confirmed that 22 of them were Covid-19 patients.
Another special flight brought 256 Pakistanis from Jeddah to Multan on May 8, 10 of them tested positive for the coronavirus.
Yesterday Pakistan’s Shia Muslims announced rallies to mourn the death of one of the most revered personality of their faith, despite government concerns regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Thousands of mourners will join processions in all big cities to commemorate the death of the fourth Islamic caliph.
Ceremonies would start late today, with processions tomorrow.
“We are making arrangements for processions across the country,” Nasir Shirazi, deputy secretary-general for the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) told DPA yesterday.
Participants will get sanitisers and face masks, while children and the old have been asked to stay at home.
Volunteers will ensure mourners maintain distance, Shirazi said.
“We have not given permission for carrying out processions,” Hamza Shafqat, deputy commissioner for the capital Islamabad, told DPA.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had lifted restrictions, arguing that it was necessary to make sure several million people do not lose their livelihood, in a country where nearly 40% of the population live in poverty.
Earlier, the prime minister bowed to pressure from the country’s powerful clerical establishment by allowing prayers in mosques during Ramadan.
Shia leaders are using these decisions as a pretext for their gatherings.
Thousands of cases have been traced to a religious gathering of around 100,000 Islamic preachers in March in defiance of government warning.
Authorities have warned that the lockdown would be reimposed if people do not adhere to social-distancing guidelines.
Experts say infections could peak later this month.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/3btWeI1
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