The coronavirus indicators in Pakistan again showed positive developments on Wednesday as the government’s measures to stem the Covid-18 spread bearing fruits with the positivity rate plunging to 4.78 percent.

Though there was a slight uptick in the number of fatalities and infections but the other major indicators showed some encouraging signs.

The positivity ratio continued to slide and it was under five after quite some time. The number of recoveries has skyrocketed with nearly 11,000 patients were able to defeat the virus in just one day whereas the active cases also went down considerably.

Pakistan has reported another 73 deaths and 2,714 infections by coronavirus during the last 24 hours (Tuesday), showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday morning.

As per the NCOC figures, after the addition of 73 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 26,938 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,212,809 after adding the fresh 2,714 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), a total of 56,733 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 4.78 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 5,122.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1437948248489033729

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), as many as 10,923 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,108,339. As of Tuesday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 77,532.

As many as 446,840 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 416,901 in Punjab, 169,429 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 103,293 in Islamabad, 32,658 in Balochistan, 33,490 in Azad Kashmir and 10,198 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 12,291 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,192 in Sindh, 5,310 in KP, 892 in Islamabad, 727 in Azad Kashmir, 344 in Balochistan and 182 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis. 

- Putin self-isolates -
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is counting on the homegrown Sputnik V jab to protect him as he self-isolates after cases are detected in his inner circle.

Russia is struggling with stubbornly high infection rates and vaccine scepticism. 

- New outbreak in China -
Southern Chinese cities close schools and order the testing of millions after a new outbreak which has sparked concerns over unvaccinated schoolchildren.

- WHO warns Philippines  -
The World Health Organization warns the Philippines that its plan to ease restrictions from Thursday in the capital Manila despite record infections risks overwhelming its health system.

- Mauritius risks it too -
The Indian Ocean island is to open up to tourists in three weeks even as a virus surge has left hospitals overwhelmed and no space in its main cemetery.

- Canberra's long lockdown -
Australian authorities extend a lockdown of the nation's capital for a month, saying the measure is necessary until vaccinations are ramped up.

- UK youngsters to get jabs -
All children in Britain aged 12 to 15 will be offered vaccinations on the advice of four top medical chiefs.

- Anti-vax coach fired -
The assistant coach of the US ice hockey team Columbus Blue Jackets is fired after refusing to be vaccinated.

- Sierra Leone ends curfew -
The West African nation lifts a nationwide curfew as infections drop.

- Over 4.6 million dead - 
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,636,530 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 662,131 deaths, followed by Brazil with 587,066, India with 443,213, Mexico 267,969 and Peru 198,799.

Based on the latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were the US with 1,554, followed by Russia with 781 and Malaysia with 413.

With inputs from AFP.