Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has announced the opening of anti-Covid vaccine registration for persons aged 30 years and above from Sunday (May 16).
Asad Umar, who also heads National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said in a tweet on Wednesday that the decision has been taken in view of the improved vaccine supply and vaccination capacity in all the federating units.
“As vaccine supply continues to improve and vaccination capacity gets enhanced in all federating units, we continue to expand the categories of those who are eligible to get vaccinated,” Umar tweeted.
“Starting Sunday, the 16th of May, registration will be open to all 30 years and older citizens,” he added.
Pakistan reported less than 3,000 coronavirus cases in a day after almost two months, as 2,869 new infections were reported during the last twenty-four hours, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday.
Pakistan had reported 2,351 coronavirus cases on March 16,2021. The country reported 2, 869 new infections on Tuesday, taking the total caseload to 867,426.
One hundred and four corona patients have died during the past 24 hours, 89 of whom were under treatment in hospital and 15 out of the hospital in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
During the past 24 hours, most of the deaths have occurred in the Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the total 104 deaths occurred in the last 24 hours 49 of them had died who were under treatment on ventilators.
According to figures provided by the National Command and Operation Centre(NCOC), Pakistan carried out 38,616 coronavirus tests on Tuesday out of which 2,869 returned positive. The positivity ratio in Pakistan stands at 7.42 percent. The current active cases of the country stand at 76,536 and 771,692 recoveries have so far been reported country-wide.
Punjab currently leads the provinces and federating units in most cases with 322,117, Sindh comes in second with 294,251 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 125,392 cases, Islamabad 78,560 cases, Balochistan 23,655 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 18,056 cases, and Gilgit Baltistan 5,407 cases. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Lahore 63 percent, Multan 73 percent, Gujranwala 52 percent and Peshawar 41 percent.
The maximum Oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of Covid patient) was also occupied in four major areas of Gujranwala 64 percent, Swabi 60 percent, Peshawar 51 percent and Multan 54 percent.
Around 623 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
At least 1,266 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 322,117.
According to the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department, at least 63 more patients succumbed to the pandemic as the total death count reached 9,188. The department added that at least 276,800 patients had recovered from the deadly virus as of yet, with 2,669 people recovered in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths globally slightly decreased this week, with over 5.5 million cases and over 90 000 deaths. Case and death incidences, however, remain at the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic. New weekly cases decreased in the regions of Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, while the South-East Asia Region continued an upward trajectory for 9 weeks and reported a further 6% increase last week.
Japan and Maldives have announced a ban on flights from several countries including Pakistan and India, in a bid to contain surging Covid-19 infections. The Maldives has banned travellers from across South Asia despite having one of the world’s most successful vaccination rollouts. The Maldives, whose economy relies on tourists visiting its pristine atolls, has suffered a more than 15-fold increase in daily infections in the past week. Authorities said tourist arrivals from the key Indian market and other South Asian countries would stop from Thursday. They have already banned the entry of foreign labourers from around South Asia except health workers.
“These restrictions apply to travellers originating from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” Maldives Immigration said in a statement. Anyone who has only transited through South Asia would also be included, it added.
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