ISLAMABAD: While over 5,000 cases and 176 deaths were reported due to Covid-19 in two days, the highest positivity ratio was observed from Karachi, followed by Peshawar and Mirpur.

According to data of the National Command and Ope­ration Centre (NCOC) released on Thursday, as many as 71 deaths and 2,545 cases were reported in a single day.

A day earlier, 105 deaths and 2,731 cases were reported.

Data showed that out of 71 deceased, 41 died on ventilators, 65 died in hospitals and six breathed their last out of hospitals. The number of active cases across the country has reached 42,850.

Over 175 fatalities reported in same period

While 309 ventilators were occupied across Pakistan, the occupancy of vents showed that as many as 44 per cent of the ventilators allocated for Covid-19 patients were occupied in Islamabad, 43pc in Multan, 30pc in Lahore and 27pc vents were occupied in Peshawar. Situation of oxygen beds showed that in Peshawar 60pc, Rawalpindi 41pc, Multan 39pc and in Islam­abad 39pc beds were occupied.

The NCOC data showed that national positivity ratio was 6.3pc and the highest positivity ratio was observed in Karachi i.e. 16.59pc, followed by Peshawar 13.34pc and Mirpur 9.4pc. As many as 2,505 Covid-19 patients were in a critical condition across Pakistan and the number of critical patients was rising fast.

As far as the positivity ratio in various federating units was concerned, it was 14.2pc in Balochistan, AJK 11.4pc, Sindh 10.6pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 8.1pc, Punjab 3.8pc, Islamabad 3.6pc and the positivity ratio in Gilgit-Baltistan was 1.5pc.

The current fatality rate due to Covid-19 is 2.02pc as compared to 2.22pc globally.

Moreover, out of overall pat­ie­nts, 70pc male persons have been infected in Pakistan, 77.5pc were over the age of 50 years and 73pc had chronic comorbidities. As many as 91pc of deceased remained hospitalised and 58pc of hospitalised patients remained on ventilators.

Meanwhile, a senior journalist Tariq Mehmood Malik, who had been suffering from Covid-19, passed away on Thursday. While politicians and journalists expressed grief over the demise of Mr Malik, the Foreign Office postponed its weekly briefing as Mr Malik had been covering foreign affairs.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2020