Pakistan has registered another 38 Covid-19 infections and one fatality during the last 24 hours (Tuesday), showed the figures released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The death toll in the country inched up to 30,627 whereas the number of total infections now rose to 1,574,475 after adding the fresh 38 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Tuesday), 6,033 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.63 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 53. 

https://twitter.com/NIH_Pakistan/status/1590152973099077633

China Defends ‘Zero-COVID’ Policy Despite Rising Infections

China is doubling down on its “zero-Covid” policy despite increasing coronavirus infections and growing economic and social costs.

Chinese officials said the country will continue to “unswervingly” follow the policy despite speculation that it would ease restrictions.  “Practice has proved that our pandemic prevention and control policy and a series of strategic measures are completely correct, and the most economical and effective,” said Hu Xiang, a disease control official.

Chinese officials often point to high Covid-19 death tolls in other countries like the United States when defending the restrictions. The U.S. reports more than 1 million deaths from the coronavirus while China reports more than 5,000, though the official death toll has been questioned by experts.

Despite the government’s stance, pushback against the policy is growing, particularly after a 3-year-old boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the city of Lanzhou on Wednesday when restrictions delayed efforts to get him to a hospital.

Traders acted on the rumors that China might ease the policy, rallying the country’s stock market. It remains possible that discussions of easing the policy are ongoing, but experts believe the change is likely to happen gradually.

“All the signs are pointing to the beginning of preparation for an eventual reopening, especially given the rising cost of the ‘dynamic zero-Covid’ policy for the economy,” Goldman Sachs economists said in a Monday note, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The actual reopening is still months away as elderly vaccination rates remain low and case fatality rates appear high among those unvaccinated based on Hong Kong official data.”

Implications of the policy have also hit Apple, which said in a statement that it expects lower shipments of its iPhone 14 due to “significantly reduced capacity” at its Zhengzhou factory after thousands of workers fled from lockdown policies.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in China hit a six-month high on Sunday with nearly 5,500 infections reported. Chinese officials have suggested that the increasing infections are due at least in part to residents skirting lockdown rules.