Another 38 people died of Covid coronavirus whereas 1,097 were infected during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) across Pakistan, showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the latest NCOC data, after the addition of 38 more deaths the toll now has surged to 22,110 whereas the number of confirmed cases stood at 950,935 after adding 1,97 fresh ones.

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), 1,131 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 896,821.

As of Wednesday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 32,936, while the positivity rate stood 2.37 percent.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1407881039805100037

As many as 333,798 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 345,449 in Punjab, 137,370 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82,470 in Islamabad, 26,845 in Balochistan, 20,064 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and 5,869 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Moreover, 10,688 individuals have so far lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 5,368 in Sindh, 4,289 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 775 in Islamabad, 574 in Azad Kashmir, 303 in Balochistan, and 111 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

Brazil sets daily record

Brazil set a new record for Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, with 115,228 new cases identified within 24 hours, the Health Ministry said, confirming the arrival of a third wave of the pandemic. 

During the same period 2,392 new deaths were recorded, bringing the total to 507,109. 

Brazil is the second worst-hit in the world in absolute numbers of fatalities, behind the United States which has suffered more than 600,000 deaths. 

The largest country in Latin America, with 212 million inhabitants, Brazil has a total of 18,169,881 confirmed Covid cases, according to official figures, which many specialists considered an underestimate. 

The number of daily infections has been rising steadily for more than a month and the average death rate has been around 2,000 per day since last week. 

"With this continual acceleration in the number of cases, we are already in the third wave," said Carlos Lula, president of the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass), which brings together health authorities from the countries various states, told the daily O Globo. 

- Delta variant to dominate EU -
The highly contagious Delta variant could soon account for 90 percent of new coronavirus cases in the EU, the bloc's disease control agency says, urging members to spur vaccination drives.

- 'Explosive' situation in Russia -
Russia warns of an "explosive" spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in the country  made worse by a sluggish vaccination campaign leading to rapidly rising infections and deaths.

- Morgan Stanley to require vaccinations -
Morgan Stanley becomes the latest big financial firm to require employees to be vaccinated at some company offices as corporate America adjusts workplace rules to the reopening US economy.

- Anti-vaxxers fired -
More than 150 employees at the Houston Methodist hospital in Texas resign or are fired after failing to comply with orders to get a vaccination to continue working there.

- Teen heart problems -
A panel of experts convened by the top US health agency will review data surrounding more than 300 confirmed cases of heart muscle inflammation among adolescents and young adults after receiving mRNA vaccines like the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs.

- Easing in Greece and Switzerland -
Greece says masks will not be required outdoors from Thursday, except when large numbers of people have gathered. A curfew is to be lifted on Monday.

Switzerland will scrap most of its remaining coronavirus restrictions this weekend, including for entry into the country.

Remaining outdoor mask-wearing rules will be dropped from Saturday and the requirement to work from home will be downgraded to a recommendation.

- No cheering at Games -
With a month to go till the opening ceremony, Tokyo Olympic organisers unveil tough new rules for spectators at the Games, including no alcohol, no hugs, no cheers and no autographs.

- Sydney lockdown -
Residents in Sydney are largely banned from leaving the city as Australian authorities rush to stop a growing outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant from spreading.

- Almost 3.9 million dead -
The pandemic has killed at least 3,884,538 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data at 1000 GMT.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 602,462 deaths, followed by Brazil with 504,717, India with 390,660 Mexico with 231,505 and Peru with 190,906.

The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies. 

The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.

 

With inputs from AFP.