105 More People Die Because of Coronavirus as Total Deaths Cross 9000

Globally, more than 1.6M have lost their lives to the coronavirus. The death toll for December is still on the rise and so far 900 deaths have been recorded in the month. That figure was 337 for November and a mere 137 for October.

Currently, the country has more than 48300 active coronavirus cases and the number has seen an increase of 2731 infections in a single day, according to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

58 people died in the province of Sindh, 58 in the last 24 hours. The death toll for other provinces during the past 24 hours is: 30 deaths in Punjab, 12 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2 in Islamabad, 2 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and one in Balochistan.

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Cases

The government data showed 2,731 new confirmed cases were reported on Tuesday, raising the cumulative infection tally to 445,977. The national case positivity rate has climbed to 7.18%

The NCOC data showed the country recorded 45,495 COVID-19 infections since December 1 at an average of 3,033 cases per day. The number has doubled as the first half of November saw 25,062 infections with an average of 1,670 cases per day while the first 15 days of October saw only 9,005 infections at a daily average of 600.

There are 48,369 active coronavirus cases across the country – out of which 2,510 are critical with 316 patients on ventilators.

The highest ventilator occupancy is in Multan (48%) and Islamabad (46%) while Peshawar has most number of oxygen beds occupied at 64%. Oxygen bed occupancy in Rawalpindi is at 42% and in Multan, at 41%.

Recoveries

According to the NCOC, Pakistan has one of the highest recovery rates in the world. The country reported 2,265 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally of recovered patients to 388,598.

So far in December, a total of 45,312 people have recovered from the virus.

With the rising spread of the virus, the federal government on December 9 warned it would shut down more sectors if the public continued to violate coronavirus SOPs.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development and NCOC chief Asad Umar said there was a rapid increase in infections during the second wave as the public was less serious than it was during the first wave.

He warned that if the virus is not contained, the government may decide to close down more sectors and impose stricter restrictions in two weeks’ time.

Coping Mechanism: Current restrictions

The federal government has already made face masks mandatory in public spaces. Large public gatherings are limited to 300, moreover, indoor weddings are banned. The government has closed shrines, cinemas, and theatres. Public and private offices are to adopt a work-from-home policy and 50% occupancy.

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The federal government has also announced that educational institutes will remain closed from November 26 to January 10. Students will study at home or get weekly homework by December 24 and winter vacations will start December 25. The schools will reopen on January 11 – which is subject to coronavirus situation then. All examinations are facing a delay except admission tests, recruitment tests, and professional examinations.

Furthermore, all provinces have banned indoor dining and limited timings for markets, shops, and shopping malls. Many areas of the country are under smart lockdown.

Mass gatherings

The country is facing a very confusing time as the atmosphere is intensely political. There are massive gatherings and protests going on across the country. People attending these mass gatherings and jalsas are mostly without face masks and social distancing.