Pakistan has logged another 532 coronavirus infections and three deaths during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health Pakistan on Sunday morning.

As per the NIH data, the death toll in the country now moved up to 30,467 after adding the three new fatalities while the number of total infections now stood at 1,550,298 after adding the fresh 532 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Saturday), 10,402 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 2.74 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 179.

The maximum positivity ratio during the last 24 hours was recorded in Lahore which was at 7.47 percent, followed by Faisalabad at 6.86 percent.

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1551013731898892288

During the last 24 hours (Saturday), another 3,28 patients have recovered from the Covid-19 in Pakistan and the number of total recoveries now stood at 1,512,559. As of Sunday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 7,272.

As many as 589,692 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 511,548 in Punjab, 220,863 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 137,120 in Islamabad, 35,735 in Balochistan, 43,515 in Azad Kashmir and 11,825 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As many as 13,586 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,164 in Sindh, 6,328 in KP, 1,027 in Islamabad, 793 in Azad Kashmir, 378 in Balochistan and 191 in Gilgit Baltistan.

President Xi Jinping and other leaders given domestic Covid vaccine

President Xi Jinping and other top politicians have been given domestically produced Covid vaccines, China has said. The news was released as part of a campaign to increase vaccination rates, especially of boosters.

The deputy head of China's National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, said it showed the leadership's confidence in the Chinese vaccines.

Health information about these figures is not usually shared with the public.

Mr Zeng said the country's leaders had "all taken the home-grown Covid-19 vaccination jabs".

He added: "This has fully displayed that they attach great importance to the epidemic prevention and control work and highly trust the home-grown Covid-19 vaccines."

Officials are trying to increase vaccination rates, which are considered too low for the country to reopen safely.

China continues to follow a "zero Covid" strategy, including mass testing, strict isolation rules and local lockdowns.

While there have been far fewer deaths than in many other countries, this approach is facing growing opposition as people and businesses continue to face the strain of restrictions.

President Xi has repeatedly said that there is no alternative to zero Covid.

China has seen 2,167,619 cases and 14,647 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This compares with 23,088,074 cases and 181,398 deaths in the UK.

An outbreak of Covid in Shanghai in April saw the city placed into lockdown for more than two months.

During the outbreak, concerns were raised over low vaccination rates. Officials said just 38% of those over 60 had received a booster, while only 15% of over-80s had been given two doses.

Recent figures show that across the country, 90% of people have now had two jabs.

Biden's Covid symptoms 'continue to improve'

US President Joe Biden's Covid symptoms "continue to improve" and he is tolerating treatment well, his White House physician said Saturday, two days after the 79-year-old tested positive for the virus.

Biden, who is isolating at the White House, completed a second full day of Paxlovid on Friday night, his doctor Kevin O'Connor wrote in a memorandum to the White House press secretary.

The US leader continues to experience a sore throat, runny nose, cough and body aches, but they are "less troublesome," O'Connor said.

And his pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature "remain entirely normal." His oxygen saturation "continues to be excellent on room air," while his lungs are "clear," according to O'Connor.

He wrote that Biden will continue to take Paxlovid, as well as using Tylenol and an inhaler for his cough "as needed." The president "is experiencing no shortness of breath at all," O'Connor added.

He said that primary sequencing results showed Biden most likely had contracted the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5 subvariant, which is currently fueling a new Covid wave in the United States.

While Biden is reported to be in good general health, as the oldest US president ever elected his age heightens concern over the impact of Covid.

The White House has emphasized since Biden's diagnosis that the president was fully vaccinated and twice boosted.

O'Connor reiterated that the president will keep isolating in accordance with guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that his team will continue monitoring him "closely."

 

With inputs from AFP.