ISLAMABAD: With the positivity rate of Covid-19 cases remained at 1.08 per cent, 20 more people died of the virus and 471 infections were reported in the country over the past 24 hours.

Pakistan continued to remain on 33rd position in terms of most number of Covid-19 cases across the globe.

Data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday showed that overall 142 ventilators were in use across the country and over 76 per cent of them were vacant in most of the cities. Similarly, not more than 33pc oxygen beds were in use in any city.

The number of active cases in the country on Sunday was 22,810, out of them 1,279 patients were in hospitals. The number of active cases in August was 90,000.

Pakistan remains on 33rd position in terms of most number of Covid cases across the globe

The country has so far reported 1,276,711 cases, out of which 1,225,363 people have recovered and 28,538 died.

Meanwhile, international data showed that over 250 million cases and over five million deaths have been reported across the globe. The most number of cases has been reported in the United States where over 47m people have been infected with the virus.

India has reported over 34m infections and Brazil ranked third with over 21m cases. The United Kingdom has reported over 9m cases and is placed at fourth position. Turkey has been placed at sixth position with over 8m infections, Iran eighth with over 5m infections, Bangladesh on 30th with over 1.5m cases and Israel on 32nd rank with 1.3m cases.

Pakistan, which was once in first 30 countries in terms of most number of cases, has now reported over 1.2m infections and ranked 33rd. In terms of per million population (PMP) tests, Pakistan has conducted 93,097 tests, India 437,167 and the US 2,125,180 tests.

Coronavirus was detected in China in December 2019 and then started spreading in other countries. Pakistan had closed its borders and took a number of steps to stop the transmission. The first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country in the last week of February 2020. On March 13, the first meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top civil and military officials, was held to discuss coronavirus which was later declared pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the NSC meeting and directed the authorities concerned to devise a comprehensive strategy to prevent the spread of the disease.

The first lockdown in the country was announced on March 16, 2020 and a number of industries, including construction industry, educational institutions, restaurants and marriage halls, were closed.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was involved to ensure medical equipment and health-related supplies at the earliest due to which coordination with the provinces improved. Later vaccine was also arranged and procured by the NDMA. Till date as many as four waves of the pandemic have been reported. The fourth one is now showing a declining trend.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2021