Pakistan has recorded 1,502 coronavirus cases and 57 deaths during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) amid a huge drop in the number of active Covid-19 cases in the last two months.

According to the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning, after the addition of 57 new fatalities the death toll has now climbed up to 12,185 while the number of confirmed cases in the country now stood at 559,093.

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), as many as 1,732 patients have recovered from the virus while the total recoveries stood at 516,683. The total count of active cases was 30,225 and the positivity rate stood at 4.01 percent.

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

At least 252,296 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 162,391 in Punjab, 68,972 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18,898 in Balochistan, 42,279 in Islamabad, 9,334 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 4,923 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 4,982 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab, 4,171 in Sindh, 1,976 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 197 in Balochistan, 481 in Islamabad, 276 in Azad Kashmir, and 102 in Gilgit Baltistan.

At least 37,452 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) while 8,325,543 samples have so far been tested.

The latest developments came as the number of active cases has dropped by around 20,000 over the last two months.

The number of active cases, which had reached 50,000 by the end of November 2020, dropped to 30,225 on Wednesday. It is the second time that active cases have witnessed a downward trend. During the first wave of Covid-19, the number of active cases had surpassed the 50,000 mark in June last year, which later started declining and finally dropped to less than 6,000 in September.

The number of active cases again started increasing and reached 11,190 on October 27 and then 30,362 on November 18, 2020, following which the government officially announced the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic in the country. The figure reached 50,000 by the end of November.

According to data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the number of active cases stood at 30,225 on Wednesday and to date 516,683 people have recovered from coronavirus.

Global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- AstraZeneca for elderly - 

The AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine can be used for people aged over 65, and also where coronavirus variants of concern are circulating, WHO experts say.

The World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) issues interim recommendations for when and how to use the two-shot vaccine, which has yet to receive WHO emergency use authorisation.

- 151 million doses -

More than 151 million doses of Covid vaccines have been injected in at least 91 countries or territories around the world, according to an AFP tally from official sources on Wednesday at 1500 GMT.

- Germany extends lockdown -

Germany agrees to continue a partial lockdown until at least March 7, at a meeting between the federal government and regions.

- AstraZeneca to boost production -

AstraZeneca plans to accelerate production of its Covid vaccine in the second quarter to support EU needs, announcing a deal with Germany's IDT Biologika, and following controversy over its deliveries to the bloc.

- Charles gets jab -

Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir to the British throne Prince Charles, 72, who contracted Covid-19 last year, receives a first vaccine dose.

- EU admits missteps -

Ursula von der Leyen admits her European Commission made missteps in procuring vaccines on behalf of all EU countries, saying: "We were late to authorise. We were too optimistic when it came to massive production."

- WHO vs US -

A member of the World Health Organization's mission to China investigating the pandemic's origins hits back after the US State Department cast doubt on the probe's transparency.  

WHO team member Peter Daszak tweets: "Please don't rely too much on US intel: increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects."

- J&J for South Africa -

South Africa will begin its vaccination campaign with Johnson & Johnson vaccines after withholding the Oxford/AstraZeneca formula over doubts about its effectiveness against a local virus variant.

- Japan seeks syringes -

Japan will start vaccinations next week, but with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab likely to become the first approved, the country is scrambling to secure enough special syringes that can extract the full six doses from each vial.

- Da Vinci painting on view -

The Milan monastery housing Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" reopens its doors, with locals now able to visit the masterpiece without booking weeks ahead.

- More than 2.3 million dead -

The virus has killed at least 2,341,496 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Wednesday.

The US is the worst-affected country with 468,203 deaths followed by Brazil with 233,520, Mexico with 168,432, India with 155,252, and the UK with 113,850.

 

With inputs from AFP.