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News

Pakistan logs 31 new coronavirus deaths, 1,404 infections in 24 hours

February 14, 2021 11:39 AM


Another 31 people died of coronavirus whereas 1,404 got infected in Pakistan during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the data released by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday morning.
As per the latest NCOC statistics, there were only 25,635 active cases in the country now while 523,700 people have so far recovered from the disease.
With the addition of 31 more fatalities, the death toll from Covid-19 has now surged to 12,307 with more casualties reported in Punjab where 5,026 people have lost their lives due to the infection so far.

Next came Sindh where 4,199 people have died so far, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1,986, Islamabad 484, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Kashmir 281, Balochistan 198 and Gilgit-Baltistan 102.

New Zealand confirms fresh community virus outbreak

New Zealand confirmed a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in the community Sunday, with a family of three testing positive including a woman who works for a catering firm servicing international flights.

"They are new and active infections," Health Minister Chris Hipkins said.

Authorities downplayed any link to inflight meals because of an eight-day gap between the woman's last day at work and when she tested positive.

"There are a number of gaps in our knowledge around these cases," Hipkins said.

"One of the things I'm looking for is more information on the likely source ... that's still a piece of the puzzle that's missing.

"We'll also be looking for whether there is any evidence Covid-19 could be out there in the community and circulating amongst others."

New Zealand detected several cases of Covid-19 three weeks ago, ending a run of more than two months with no cases in the community.

Those cases were traced back to a hotel where the people had completed quarantine after travelling from overseas.

The woman and her daughter tested positive Saturday before the father returned a positive sample Sunday.

Hipkins said there was no immediate need to introduce new restrictions while health officials investigated the source of the infection.

The daughter's school will be closed for two days while all staff and pupils are tested. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cancelled commitments in Auckland to return to the capital Wellington to be briefed on the outbreak. 

Ardern has been widely praised for her management of the pandemic, with New Zealand recording just 25 deaths and less than 2,000 cases in a population of five million. 

The country closed its borders and implemented a strict five-week lockdown in March and April last year.

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

- US voices 'concerns' about WHO findings -
The United States has "deep concerns" about the early findings of an expert investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in China and is asking Beijing for more information, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said.

"It is imperative that this report be independent, with expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the Chinese government," he added.

- WHO experts want 'more data' from China -
WHO experts told AFP in an interview they had not received access to enough raw data while in China probing the pandemic's origins, saying more was needed to detect possible early Covid cases.

"We want more data. We have asked for more data," said Peter Ben Embarek, who headed WHO's expert mission to Wuhan.

- No end to pandemic without fair access to vaccine -
Developing new Covid-19 vaccines will not end the pandemic unless all countries receive doses in a fast and fair manner, disease experts warned.

As several nations consider implementing vaccine passports when international travel resumes, the authors of a letter published in the Lancet medical journal said vaccine stockpiling in wealthier countries would only prolong the global health emergency.

- Peru: record number of hospitalisations -
Peru, which is facing a second wave of Covid-19 infections, has registered a record number of hospitalised cases, the health ministry said.

In the past 24 hours, 213 new admissions were reported, bringing the total to 14,333. The previous record of 14,181 hospitalisations was reached on August 17.

The number of infections and deaths has quadrupled from their level at the end of December. 

On Friday, the country's health minister resigned amid claims that former president Martin Vizcarra was inoculated before the vaccine was available to the public.

- Iran warns of a fourth wave -
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of a "fourth wave" of the virus as cases rise in certain areas of the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the pandemic.

He said some cities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan were now "red" -- the highest on Iran's colour-coded risk level -- after weeks of low alert levels across the country.

Iran has lost close to 59,000 lives out of more than 1.5 million cases of Covid infection. 

- Protests erupt in Cyprus -
Cypriot police used water cannon and tear gas in rare clashes with protesters as hundreds demonstrated against government corruption and coronavirus restrictions.

Organisers and protesters voiced anger over official's response to the pandemic, which has battered the Cypriot economy and triggered stringent lockdown restrictions. 

- Open crowds banned as Melbourne begins lockdown -
Australia's second-largest city of Melbourne went from welcoming thousands of fans for its Grand Slam tennis tournament to deserted city streets overnight, as millions began a five-day coronavirus lockdown.

- Nearly 2.4 million deaths - 
The virus has caused almost 2.4 million deaths since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Saturday.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 480,902 deaths followed by Brazil with 237,489, Mexico with 172,557, India with 155,550 and the UK with 116,287.

With inputs from AFP.



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