ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan received 12 million doses of Sinovac vaccine during the last four days, 66 patients lost their battle against Covid-19.

A total of 3,800 more people got infected in a single day.

According to data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the number of active cases was recorded at 93,690, with 6,150 patients admitted to hospitals across the country.

As many as 532 ventilators were in use, with Multan and Lahore reporting a 50 per cent occupancy ratio while four cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — Swabi, Swat, Abbottabad and Peshawar — utilising over 50pc oxygenated beds on Monday, the data revealed.

A total of 1,156,281 people have contracted coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, out of whom 1,036,921 have recovered and 25,670 could not survive.

66 patients breathe their last, 3,800 test positive

On the other hand, the data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority showed that 12m doses of Sinovac had been brought from China between Aug 26 and 29.

PMC urged to hold single exam

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has criticised the suspension of Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) at a centre and circulation of questions on YouTube soon after the start of the exam.

The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) had announced that the MDCAT exam would start on Aug 30 and continue till Sept 30 on a daily basis. Around 200,000 candidates have registered for the exams.

A total of 5,800 students had to appear on Monday, but at some centres the exam was either delayed or could not be held.

Talking to Dawn, Punjab PMA President Dr Ghulam Shabir said the morning session of the exam could not be held at the Millennium Marquee in Islamabad.

“We are receiving complaints from other areas as well. A similar problem occurred in Lahore when a server could not be connected for the National Licensing Exam (NLE) following which the young doctors started protesting which has turned into a countrywide issue,” he said.

Dr Shabir said the questions asked in MDCAT on Monday were being shared on YouTube.

“The questions are not only easy but their answers can also be more than one which proves that the question bank has been prepared by non-professional people. We demand the PMC to cancel the exam and hold the test on the same day across the country,” he added.

However, the PMC spokesperson said there had been logistic issue at Millennium Marquee in Islamabad and the test was conducted later.

The spokesperson said since it was the first-ever exercise across the country, the media should appreciate it instead of criticising.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2021