Federal Minister for Planning and head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar has issued the alert that Pakistan is now facing a third wave of COVID-19 with a surge in positive cases.
He added that the United Kingdom (UK)’s coronavirus strain has been found in half of the new cases in Pakistan, and this strain spreads fast with a high fatality rate.
Over the last 24 hours, 2,338 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Pakistan, according to data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Meanwhile, 46 people lost their lives to the virus, of which 45 died while hospitalised. 12 died while on ventilators.
Punjab continues to register the greatest number of COVID-19 deaths, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The number of fatalities registered in the provinces stands at 5,732 in Punjab, 4,453 in Sindh, 2,147 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 522 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 202 in Balochistan, 103 in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and 317 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Till now, 13,476 total deaths have been registered across Pakistan.
As of March 13, 2021, there are 19,764 active cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan.
Yesterday, 42,499 tests were conducted across Pakistan, with 10,519 conducted in Sindh; 16,377 in Punjab; 8,088 in KP; 6,105 in ICT; 500 in Balochistan; 310 in GB; and 600 in AJK.
631 hospitals within Pakistan are equipped with COVID-19 facilities, with 2,779 patients admitted across the country.
Of the ventilators reserved for COVID-19 patients, 241 are occupied across Pakistan. 26% of the reserved ventilators are occupied in Peshawar, 21% in Multan, 32% in Islamabad, and 38% in Lahore. No patients are on ventilator in Balochistan, GB, and AJK. Of the allotted oxygen beds, 100% are occupied in Gujrat, 42% in Peshawar, 29% in Lahore, and 35% in Islamabad.
To date, a total of 602,536 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Pakistan (AJK 10,892; Balochistan 19,188; GB 4,960; ICT 47,365; KP 75,357; Punjab 18,3815; Sindh 260,959). 9,445,138 tests have so far been conducted in Pakistan.
So far, 569,296 people have recovered across Pakistan.
