(Islamabad) The pandemic has gained momentum across the
country; as 67 more people succumbed to coronavirus on November 30 which
is the highest death toll in nearly five months. According to the data provided
by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), the virus claimed 67
lives in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 8,091. Moreover, the
country's fatality rate stands at 2.0% against the global mortality rate of
2.3%. The country also reported 2,458 new infections, raising the total
tally to 400,484. Out of 49,105 active coronavirus cases in the
country, 2,165 are critically ill and 282 are on life-support systems;
whereas, at least 343,286 have recovered from the virus. Keeping in view
the mushrooming cases over six weeks; the health experts and authorities
have raised serious concerns that the second wave may hit harder than the first
if SOPs are not followed. The historical case positivity rate stands at 7.2%
while today's rate is 6.0%. Azad Jammu and Kashmir have the highest positivity
rate at 14.5%, Sindh is second with 10.1%, and Balochistan third with 9.4%.
Islamabad reported 4.3%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3.8%; Punjab 3.5%; and Gilgit
Baltistan 2.6%. The coronavirus monitoring body has also issued the city-wise
breakdown which reveals that the highest case positivity rate was observed in
Mirpur with 20.62%, followed by Peshawar at 19.58 and Hyderabad at 19.03%. Karachi
recorded 13.9%, Abbottabad 11.21%, Multan 10.66%, and Rawalpindi 9.27%. Since
the pandemic reached Pakistan earlier this year; a total of 5,549,779 PCR tests
have been conducted across the country - 40,969 tests in the past 24 hours
only.
Coronavirus
vaccine on the way?
After Prime Minister Imran Khan
approved advance booking of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Economic Coordination
Committee, headed by Advisor to PM on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, approved
a $150 million grant to secure the purchase. Federal Minister for Planning and
Development Asad Umar said on Monday that the National Command and Operations
Centre (NCOC) has finalised recommendations for the procurement of coronavirus
vaccines. ‘NCOC today finalized its recommendations for the procurement of
COVID vaccine;’ tweeted Umar, who also chairs the national body. ‘These will be
presented to the cabinet tomorrow (Tuesday) for approval.’ The minister said
the recommendations were developed by a task force of experts headed by Special
Assistant to PM on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan.
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