COVID-19 Statistics 16 October 2022 Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 10,396 Positive Cases: 46 Positivity %: 0.44% Deaths: 00 Patients on Critical Care: 24

Pakistan has recorded 46 more coronavirus infections and no fatality during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the figures released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Sunday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The death toll in the country remained the same at 30,620 while the number of total infections now rose to 1,573,365 after adding the fresh 46 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Saturday), 10,396 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.53 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 30.

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1581460257637027840

China insists it will stick with zero-Covid strategy

China has insisted it will stick with its strict zero-Covid policies, saying its extensive testing and quarantine apparatus is sufficient amid the 20th Communist party congress, which began on Sunday.

Government measures, which also include lockdowns, are “the most cost effective and have worked the best for our country”, a spokesperson for China’s Communist party said. 

He pointed to the country’s large elderly population, its uneven regional development and its insufficient medical resources, adding that the policies would continue to improve. “We all wish for a swift end to the pandemic,” he said. “But as things stand, it is still lingering. That is the reality.”

The congress, which will lay out Communist party policy for the next five years, is widely expected to confirm an unprecedented third term in power for President Xi Jinping as head of the party and its military.

The seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top political decision-making group, will also be unveiled.

China’s zero-Covid-19 strategy has been one of the dominant hallmarks of Xi’s administration and has mostly succeeded in suppressing the virus, in contrast to high death tolls in the US and Europe, where healthcare systems have come under immense strain. 

However, its economic toll rose dramatically this year due to the two-month lockdown of Shanghai, its biggest city and financial hub, and the closure of dozens of other cities. 

On Thursday last, leading epidemiologist Liang Wannian said there was “no timeline” for an exit from zero-Covid rules.

Earlier in the week, the state-run People’s Daily newspaper ran a prominent defence of the strategy. Recommended Person in the News Xi Jinping: China’s everlasting emperor awaits his third term Liang added that China now had the capacity to test 1bn people in a single day.

In Beijing and other big cities, including Shanghai, authorities have tightened measures ahead of the launch of the congress, and residents need to test negative every few days to enter most buildings.

Zero-Covid, in combination with a worsening property crisis, has left Beijing struggling to meet its economic growth target for this year of 5.5 percent, its lowest in decades.

According to World Bank forecasts, China’s economic output will grow 2.8 percent this year, lagging the rest of Asia for the first time since 1990. In the second quarter, GDP grew just 0.4 per cent year on year.

International concerns about China’s aggression towards Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic nation which Beijing claims as its territory, have mounted ahead of the congress.

The party spokesperson reiterated that Xi’s administration reserved the right to use military force against Taiwan.