Amid reports that Pakistan will get another consignment of China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine, another 53 people lost their lives to the coronavirus pandemic whereas 1,346 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday morning.

As per the latest NCOC statistics, the death toll has climbed up to 11,967 while the number of confirmed cases from coronavirus in the country stood at 554,474.

During the past 24 hours (Saturday), 1,542 patients have recovered from the virus while the number of total recovered people stood at 510,242. The positivity ratio of Covid-19 cases was recorded at 3.64 percent.

As usual, Sindh remained the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab and other provinces.

As many as 250,648 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 160,580 in Punjab, 68,338 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18,859 in Balochistan, 41,934 in Islamabad, 9,199 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 4,916 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 4,880 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab, 4,087 in Sindh, 1,952 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 196 in Balochistan, 478 in Islamabad, 272 in Azad Kashmir and 102 in GB.

As many as 36,954 tests have been conducted during the last 24 hours (Saturday) while 8,192,720 samples have tested so far.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on Saturday also issued an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V. After the Drap’s EUA, now both the government and the private sector can procure three vaccines.

According to media reports, Pakistan will get another consignment of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Monday. Half a million doses of the vaccine will be brought to Pakistan via a special flight of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force. 

Chinese media also confirmed that Pakistan was going to receive another donation of the Sinopharm vaccine but they did not provide details of the doses being sent to Islamabad.

Pakistan has already received 500,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine, which is being used to inoculate frontline healthcare workers in the country. So far, over 12,000 frontline healthcare workers have been vaccinated.

Global developments
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- China approves second vaccine -
China's drug authorities has given "conditional" approval for a second Covid-19 vaccine, Sinovac's CoronaVac jab.

The vaccine has already been rolled out to key groups at higher risk of exposure to coronavirus but the new approval allows for its use on the general public.

- EU chief rejects criticism -
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has again dismissed criticism in the German media that the European Union was late in sealing vaccine pre-order agreements with pharmaceutical firms.

She told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper on Saturday that Europe's struggle to get doses was linked to "a global shortage of important components that are used in the manufacture of vaccines".

"If we had all been aware at the time of the risks involved in launching such mass production, then we would have tempered expectations for rapid vaccination."

- Biden to 'act fast' -
US President Joe Biden says he has to "act fast" to push a huge new economic relief package through Congress, even without Republican support, because many Americans are near the "breaking point."

- Iran to start vaccinations - 
Iran will kick off its coronavirus vaccination campaign within a week, President Hassan Rouhani says, after the country received its first batch of Russia's Sputnik V jab.

- Nearly 2.3 million dead -
The coronavirus has killed nearly 2.3 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in late 2019, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.

More than 105 million infections have been recorded.

The countries with the most deaths are the US at 459,554, followed by Brazil with 230,034 and Mexico with 164,290.

The global death toll, calculated from official daily figures published by national health authorities, is an underestimate and does not include later revisions by statistics agencies.

- Israel to ease lockdown -
Israel has announced it will ease lockdown measures from Sunday but keep its international airport and land borders closed.

- Cyclist Sagan positive -
Three-time world cycling champion Peter Sagan has tested positive, affecting the Slovakian's preparations for the new season.

- 'Free me,' Durant asks -
Basketball star Kevin Durant was ruled out of the starting lineup moments before the beginning of a Brooklyn Nets game because someone he came into contact with earlier had an inconclusive test for Covid-19.

He then came off the bench for the first time in his NBA career but was later pulled from the game in the third quarter because of Covid-19 protocols.

A visibly frustrated Durant threw his water bottle as he headed down the tunnel to the dressing room, tweeting "Free me" while the game was still being played. His Brooklyn Nets went on to lose to the Toronto Raptors.

 

With inputs from AFP.