The indications that the coronavirus pandemic’s latest wave is receding in Pakistan grew further stronger as the country reported 189 infections and four deaths during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed figures of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) released on Saturday morning. 

As per the latest NCOC data, the number of deaths climbed up to 30,340, whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,523,590 after adding the fresh 189 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Friday), 30,417 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.62 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 451.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1507459150296588290

During the last 24 hours (Friday), as many as 367 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,485,085. As of Saturday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 8,165.

As many as 574,549 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 504,765 in Punjab, 218,860 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 135,016 in Islamabad, 35,468 in Balochistan, 43,239 in Azad Kashmir and 11,693 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As many as 13,551 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 8,094 in Sindh, 6,312 in KP, 1,022 in Islamabad, 792 in Azad Kashmir, 378 in Balochistan and 191 in Gilgit Baltistan.

UK Covid infections nearing record highs

Coronavirus levels reached all-time highs in Scotland and Wales and are nearing record levels in England, with around 4.2 million people infected across the UK last week, official figures showed Friday.

The steep rise in infections is due to Omicron BA.2, a more transmissible variant of Omicron, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Around one in 16 people in England were likely to have had the disease in the week to March 19, the third consecutive weekly rise, said the country's official statistical body.

Around 4.26 million people were believed to have been infected across the whole UK last week, just shy of the 4.3 million record set in the first week of 2022.

Despite the number of infections, the New Year wave resulted in far fewer deaths than previous bouts due to Omicron's relatively mild symptoms.

The number of people admitted to hospital in England and Wales is also on the rise, although the number of people in high-dependency units is still low.

Scotland's hospitals are currently treating 2,326 patients, a new record.

Britain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, recording 164,454 deaths.

James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford, said there was "no sign yet the virus has peaked in terms of infections".

"The sheer scale of the infection is now pressuring the health service but the combination of vaccination, improved treatments and the less severe nature of Omicron means for the vast majority of those infected this will not be life threatening," he added.

Australia to give fourth Covid-19 jab to over 65s

Australia is offering a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines to over 65s from next month, federal health authorities announced Friday, as a new Omicron strain races through the population.

The top advisory group on vaccines approved the fourth shot for vulnerable groups: those aged over 65, indigenous people over 50, people who are immunocompromised and care home residents.

In the past six weeks, other countries, including France, Germany and Sweden as well as  health authorities in England, have recommended a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose for the most vulnerable, including the elderly.

Australia has been reporting daily infection rates of more than 50,000 in the past few days -- about double those of just a month earlier -- blamed partly on the rise of a more infectious BA.2 Omicron variant.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the extra dose would be available from April 4 -- nearly two months before the start of the Australian winter -- for people who had a third dose at least four months earlier. 

"A booster is your best protection against the most severe impacts of Covid and may provide protection against long Covid," Hunt said.

The health minister also said people arriving in Australia would no longer have to get proof of a negative Covid-19 test in advance when emergency Covid-19 legislation expires April 17.

Passengers would, however, still need to be vaccinated, and to wear masks on flights.

- Protection wanes -
Australia's technical advisory group on immunisation, ATAGI, said Pfizer and Moderna were the preferred vaccines for the extra booster shot.

But there was as yet "insufficient evidence" of the benefits of a fourth dose for other groups in the broader population, it said in a statement.

Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity program at the Kirby Institute of the University of NSW, welcomed news of a fourth jab but said she would have preferred the dose be made available to everyone aged over 50.

"Protection from three doses wanes substantially after a few months, even against severe outcomes like hospitalisation and death," she said.

"At 50 years, the immune system starts to decline in a process called immunosenescence, and it declines exponentially and predictably from then on," she said.

"This has been well studied for other infections, and Covid-19 seems to follow the same pattern." 

MacIntyre encouraged Australians to get their third and, for those who qualify, fourth doses.

"This is not a cold or the flu. There is now substantial evidence of serious long-term effects including brain damage, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes in a proportion of survivors, even in people with mild infection," she said.

Australia has reported a total 3.93 million Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began, with 5,824 deaths

With inputs from AFP.