After registering a drop in daily coronavirus infections for two consecutive days, Pakistan has once again recorded a significant surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths as the virus fuelled by Omicron variant spread throughout the country.

According to the statistics released by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning, Pakistan has listed new 7,539 coronavirus infections and 25 deaths during the last 24 hours (Wednesday).

As per the NCOC data, after the addition of 25 new deaths the overall toll has now surged to 29,162 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,393,887 after adding the fresh 7,539 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), 63,272 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 11.91 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 1,240.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1486506180881129479

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), as many as 1,784 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,272,871. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 91,854.

As many as 533,496 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 469,540 in Punjab, 187,983 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 122,098 in Islamabad, 34,131 in Balochistan, 36,082 in Azad Kashmir and 10,557 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,126 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,765 in Sindh, 5,986 in KP, 979 in Islamabad, 752 in Azad Kashmir, 367 in Balochistan and 187 in Gilgit Baltistan.

 

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Partygate: Johnson defiant -

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends his government's record before parliament, vowing to fight on as he braces for a potentially damning report into lockdown-breaching parties.

- Denmark to lift restrictions -

Denmark is to lift its restrictions -- including mask wearing -- on Tuesday, despite a record number of infections in its highly vaccinated population.

- Austria eases rules for unjabbed -

Austria announces it is ending a lockdown for those unvaccinated as it prepares to become the first EU country to make Covid-19 jabs mandatory from next week.

- German growth cut -

Germany lowers its growth forecast for the coming year to 3.6 percent as the virus holds back Europe's industrial powerhouse.

- French unemployment falls -

The number of unemployed people in France falls to its lowest in almost ten years in late 2021, adding to a picture of a strong coronavirus rebound for the eurozone's second-largest economy.

- Jabs for Palestinians -

One million doses of coronavirus vaccine arrive in Gaza from the United Arab Emirates, the latest donation facilitated by an exiled rival of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

- Reinfections -

Two-thirds of people in England who tested positive for Covid-19 in January previously had the virus or suspect they had it, a survey by Imperial College London says.

- Premier League rules -

Premier League clubs must have at least four positive coronavirus cases in their squad before a match can be called off under new guidance, following a number of controversial postponements.

- 5.6 million dead -

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,614,118 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on Wednesday.

The US has recorded the most Covid deaths with 872,126, followed by Brazil with 623,843, India on 491,127 and Russia 328,105.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.

 

With inputs from AFP.