Pakistan has registered another 51 coronavirus infections and no fatality during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed the figures released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Saturday 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 1,572,972 after adding the fresh 51 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Friday), 13,736 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.37 percent. The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 38.

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1578560659658141696

Covid cases on the rise in Europe could spell trouble for US

A COVID-19 wave may be developing on the continent as colder weather sets in and people retreat indoors. This could be a portent of things to come for the United States.

Hospitalizations and cases of the disease are increasing in a number of nations, according to data from the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

According to a WHO study released on Wednesday, there were 1.5 million weekly cases this week, an 8% increase from the week before. The COVID-19 rates in France grew 31% overall, with rates among people 80 and older increasing significantly, according to the nation’s health agency Santé Publique France.

The health organization could not provide precise figures but stated that both new hospitalizations and new deaths have “continued to climb.” In contrast, the Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that in England, for the week ending September 24, nearly one in fifty people — or an estimated 1,105,400 — had COVID-19.

This is an increase from the one in 65 people, or roughly 857,400 people, who were infected the previous week.

Government statistics also show that the average number of deaths in England over the past seven days is 65, the highest number is seen in more than a month. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are currently moving decrease in the United States, while deaths have plateaued.
However, public health professionals assert that the COVID scenario in Europe is probably a sign of things to come in the United States. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News, “We’ve seen this pattern.” “We’ve heard this song before; as winter comes, cold-weather cases start to rise, and this year, more limitations have been lifted than in years past.”

He continued, “The pattern is Europe, New York, then West Coast.” There may even be some early indicators that this is taking place. The Northeast and Midwest have seen an increase in viral levels, according to the CDC’s wastewater dashboard.

Although vaccines and boosters will help reduce the number of severe COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S., according to Chin-Hong, there may be a combination of vaccine weariness and misunderstanding regarding who is eligible for the new booster.

The novel bivalent COVID-19 booster, which targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, has received either little or no attention from the general public in the United States, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Additionally, a lot of Americans are unsure of whether the newest booster is suggested for them.

The figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation “shocked me,” Chin-Hong added. “Not even knowing is shocking, because if you don’t even know about it, it’s not even about not wanting to have it.”

“So, I think that people are worn out, they’re really not interested in hearing about vaccines or COVID news, and they just want to get on with their lives,” he concluded. To safeguard themselves, Chin-Hong emphasized that Americans should obtain the updated booster as soon as feasible.

If you’re traveling abroad or given what’s occurring in Europe, you might want to acquire it sooner rather than later, he advised. “Six hours before he boarded the flight, my uncle who was traveling to France tested positive for COVID. Therefore, I believe that there is a lot going on in Europe that could have an impact on your trip home.”

In order to lower their chance of contracting influenza and ease the strain on the healthcare system, he also advised the general population to obtain the flu shot.