Islamabad: Pakistan has administered more than 1 million doses of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar announced on Tuesday.
In a tweet the minister said: “The target we had set for 1 million vaccinations in a day was crossed yesterday with 1.72 million. All federating entities contributed with Punjab, Sindh, KP and Islamabad doing record numbers. Amazing performance by all involved.”
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also confirmed the achievement of the milestone and congratulated “all who have made this happen.”
“We’ve also crossed 30 million (cumulative) doses. Last 10 million doses took 16 days – 8 times faster than what it took to administer the first 10 million. Kudos to all who have made this happen,” said Dr Faisal.
50% vaccination of Islamabad completed
In another tweet, the minister gave an update about vaccination of eligible populations in different cities.
According to Asad Umar with 50 per cent of its population vaccinated Islamabad is leading, followed by Peshawar and Rawalpindi with 35 per cent of their population vaccinated.
Faisalabad comes third in the list with 28 per cent population vaccinated while Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Sargodha reported 27 per cent, Karachi 26 per cent and Hyderabad 25 per cent.
Curbs re-imposed in cities with high positivity rate
The Punjab government has re-imposed certain restrictions, including the closure of shrines and cinemas, observance of two safe days a week, and a ban on indoor dining in four cities of the province — Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan — amid rising coronavirus cases.
These restrictions will be in force from August 3 to 31, according to a notification issued by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.
Other restrictions include a ban on indoor wedding functions from Aug 8 and a 50 per cent work-from-home policy while public transport will be allowed to operate at 50pc occupancy.
More than 75,000 active cases
According to the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC), the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge in Pakistan despite an accelerated vaccination drive in the country.
The active cases on Tuesday jumped to 75,373 from 73,213 a day earlier (Monday), the NCOC further reported.
Pakistan reported 3,582 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Besides, 67 people lost their lives in the last one day, the NCOC data further stated adding the positivity rate in the country stood at 7.19 per cent.
