Islamabad: Pakistan set three records on Sunday, all of them related to the worsening situation of COVID-19 in the country. It reported the highest number of deaths in a day, most new cases in 24 hours and more countrywide tests for coronavirus.
According to the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC), Sunday turned out to be the deadliest day of the year as 149 persons breathed their last in the past twenty four hours.
The data further reveals that 71,836 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in the past one day and as a result 6,127 new cases were reported which is again the highest number of infections recorded since June 14, 2020 when 6,365 cases were reported.
Active cases
The positivity rate in the country remained 8.52 per cent, according to the NCOC while still there are 79,108 active cases in the country.
With the latest addition in death toll and tally of cases, Pakistan’s total number of mortalities has surged to 16,243 and cases 756,285.
A bad day for Punjab
Amid the deteriorating situation in the country due to the third wave of COVID-19, Punjab stands as the most adversely-hit province where 3,562 new coronavirus cases were detected in the last 24 hours, marking the province first time reporting more than 3,000 infections in one day since the start of the pandemic.
The provincial tally of cases has now reached 267,572.
Besides, 97 more people died of the virus in the province, taking the total number of fatalities to 7,430. Positivity rate in Lahore, according to the provincial health department again remained highest in the country i.e. 13 per cent.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday reported 958 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.
A day earlier, the province’s single day tally of new cases was 1,061.
The total infections in the province have surged to 105,438.
The province also reported 35 deaths from the virus in the last one day, taking the total number of fatalities to 2,867.
Balochistan recorded 62 cases while there is no addition in deaths. The province’s caseload has reached 20,822 while the number of fatalities stands at 223.
Federal Minister for Education & Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood after chairing a special meeting of the NCOC over reopening of schools (grade-9 and above) has announced that in the COVID-19 affected districts, these classes will resume in ‘staggered’ manner allowing the students to prepare for Board exams.
The meeting that was attended by all the provincial education and health ministers, education secretaries and senior officials also decided the grade 1-8 classes will remain closed in districts with over 8 per cent positivity rate.
It was also decided in the meeting on Sunday that A, AS, O level and the International General Certificate for School Education (IGCSE) exams would take place as per the date sheet announced by the Cambridge Assessment International Education System (CAIES).
There will be no delay or cancellation, said the minister in his tweet adding those students wishing to take exams in Oct/Nov can do so in the same fee already paid.
