Tag: covid pakistan

  • 40 staff members of hotel reserved for PSL 7 bio-secure bubble test positive for Covid

    40 staff members of hotel reserved for PSL 7 bio-secure bubble test positive for Covid

    40 staff memebers of the hotel reserved for the seventh edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) bio-secure bubble have tested positive for Covid-19.

    Read More – Five Covid-19 cases reported in three different franchises ahead of PSL 7

    Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Salman Naseer had said that all international players are coming to Pakistan to play the league.

    Salman also said that the league will kick-start on Thursday, the pre-decided day on January 27 and singer Atif Aslam will be performing in the opening ceremony.

    Salman also revealed that 40 staff memebers of the hotel reserved for the bio-secure bubble have tested positive for Covid-19 in the pre-testing phase while two players and two team officials have also been tested positive for the virus. The crew is now isolating after testing positive.

    It has also been reported that eight staff members of National Stadium Karachi have tested positive for Covid-19 and with that 17 staff members are Covid positive, including security officers.

    Meanwhile, 95 per cent of PSL players and officials have tested negative for Covid-19.

  • Five Covid-19 cases reported in three different franchises ahead of PSL 7

    Five Covid-19 cases reported in three different franchises ahead of PSL 7

    Five cases have been reported from as many as three franchises of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) seventh edition which is set to start from January 27 in Karachi.

    As per details, two of the officials for the PSL 2022 season have now tested positive for Covid-19 which is not a piece of ideal news for the board.

    According to reports, West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer, Australian all-rounder James Faulkner and England left-arm seamer Luke Wood have all tested positive for Covid-19 and are placed in isolation. They were expected to arrive in Karachi but their arrival has now been delayed and they will also miss the first game for the Quetta Gladiators against the Peshawar Zalmi.

    The majority of the players and all of the officials are expected to join the bio-bubble in Karachi by tonight, which has been set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to conduct Covid-19 tests as the majority of the personnel have been engaged in cricketing activities; this might result in additional Covid-19 positive cases being reported.

    As per Cricket Pakistan, a couple of PCB officials have also fallen prey to the pandemic whereas some players’ families have also reported testing positive for Covid-19.

    All the matches of the upcoming edition of PSL will be held in just the two venues of Lahore and Karachi to reduce the possibility of players contracting the virus through travel. The crowd capacity for the matches has been reduced to 25 percent and this will be a huge responsibility for the PCB to ensure the tournament is conducted according to safety measures.

    Chairman PCB, Ramiz Raja already had measures in place for the Covid-19 scenario and the franchises have agreed to take the field if each of the squad has 13 players available in order to ensure that the matches are not skipped.

  • Which vaccine has the lowest death rate?

    Which vaccine has the lowest death rate?

    Singapore has released a breakdown of the impact of different Covid-19 vaccines. The recipients of Moderna vaccine showed the lowest death rate.

    The country found 11 deaths per 100,000 among people who received Sinovac shots and 7.8 deaths among those with Sinopharm. This number went down to to 6.2 deaths for those with mRNA shots from Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE and only one fatality in those who were administered the vaccines from Moderna.

    Singapore’s Health minister Ong Ye Kung told parliament that out of the 802 people who lost their lives to Covid-19 last year in the city-state, 70% of them weren’t fully vaccinated.

    Singapore has fully immunized 87 per cent of its 5.7 million residents, with 47 per cent having also received booster doses. Singapore has the world’s highest vaccination rate.

  • World Bank surprised by Pakistan’s growth

    World Bank surprised by Pakistan’s growth

    The World Bank has released its Global Economic Prospects report 2022. In the report The World Bank analysed the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on economies around the world. The World Bank said it was surprised by Pakistan’s growth in the year 2021, citing record-high remittances and an accommodative monetary policy as the main reasons.

    “Growth in Pakistan surprised on the upside last year supported by improving domestic demand, record-high remittance inflows, a narrow targeting of lockdowns, and accommodative monetary policy — real interest rates dropped precipitously during 2020 and remained negative throughout most of 2021,” the report read.

    According to the report, Pakistan’s economy will grow by 3.4 per cent this fiscal year and by 4 per cent in 2022-23, owing to structural reforms that will improve export competitiveness and the financial viability of the power sector.

    However, the report stated that global economic growth will slow down to 4.1 per cent in 2022 from an estimated 5.5 per cent in 2021. The report also added a warning that “Omicron-related economic disruptions could substantially reduce growth” to as low as 3.4 per cent.

  • Pakistan fully vaccinates 33% of its eligible population against covid-19

    Pakistan fully vaccinates 33% of its eligible population against covid-19

    Pakistan has vaccinated 33 per cent of the eligible population against Covid-19, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) stated in a tweet.

    “33% of Pakistan’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated!! If you are still unvaccinated, please get your dose now! Stay safe!,” the tweet by the center read.

    As of today, the total number of vaccines administered across the country is 124,054,300.

    The NCOC has also approved a booster shot of Covid-19 vaccines for healthcare workers, those aged over 50 years, and immunocompromised people.

    Read more- NCOC approves booster shot for healthcare workers, those over 50 and immunocompromised people

    A new variant of the coronavirus was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24. It was declared a new variant “of concern” and named it Omicron. The new variant has raised alarm in the entire world, including Pakistan.

    Read more- Deadly Omicron-new variant of Covid, raises alarm

  • ‘Pakistan witnessing lowest positivity rate since we started measuring Covid’: Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar took to Twitter to announce that Pakistan recorded the lowest Covid positivity ratio since the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) started measuring the statistics of the pandemic.

    “Alhamdulillah, we now have [the] lowest positivity ratio since we started measuring covid. Also, have [the] lowest patients on critical care & [the] lowest daily mortality in a year. [The] positive impact of vaccination showing but vaccination drive must continue.”

    According to the latest statistics given by NCOC, the current positivity ratio of the virus is 1.34 per cent.

  • Pakistan’s lowest daily Covid-19 death count of 2021

    Pakistan has reported the daily death toll from Covid-19 below 10 for the first time in this year, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data showed on Monday.

    According to the latest statistics of NCOC, nine people succumbed to the virus during the past 24 hours across the country and 698 positive cases were reported.

    The positivity rate now stands at 1.65 per cent and for the tenth consecutive day, it is less than 2 per cent.

    The infections are decreasing day by day in Pakistan, with 593 new cases reported on average each day, reports Geo News.

    Last week, active cases in Pakistan dropped below the 25,000 mark after approximately seven months.

    Pakistan has administered at least 100,741,762 doses of Covid vaccines so far.

  • Kubra Khan shares emotional experience as she tests positive for Covid’19

    Kubra Khan shares emotional experience as she tests positive for Covid’19

    Actor Kubra Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 after basking in the glory of fan’s appreciation for her performance as Mashal in Farooq Rind’s Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay.

    The Daldal star took to Instagram to share the news, “We as human beings have the funniest scales to measure what’s a big or a small deal,” she wrote. “We are waltzing around this world given temporarily to us, taking everything and everyone for granted. Something as many would say ‘as small as smelling the morning tea’ or ‘breathing in a normal rhythm’…it’s basic, normal isn’t it?”

    “I tested positive for Covid-19 a little while ago. And all these ‘small things’ didn’t feel so small anymore. Grateful to Allah (SWT) I am on a road to recovery now. This morning I smelt a hint of my tea and bawled out in tears out of gratitude to Allah. In the past week I had chicken karahi, Nutella cake, chocolate brownies, all my favourites in front of me. I couldn’t taste or even smell any of them. All that we work for weren’t able to lift me up, except for the ‘small thing’ of smelling chai that Allah (SWT) made possible,” she wrote.

    “I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s important to strive to live your best life and become the best version of yourselves. I do it myself and it’s normal to complain about ‘the big things’. ‘Paisa, kapra aur makaan‘ [Money, clothes and housing]. I do that too but do not disregard the luxuries we’ve been given by Allah ( SWT). Gratitude changed my life. Realising the ‘small things are the real big deals’ changed my life. So here I am, in a shirt that I haven’t changed in the past three days, makeup-less, filterless and energy-less but Grateful to the max. Allah is Great,” added Kubra.

    On the work front, Kubra can be seen currently in Hum TV’s drama Hum Kaha Kay Sachy Thay.

    Kubra Khan talks about her equation with Mahira Khan

  • Unvaccinated people to face new restrictions in next 24 hours: NCOC

    Unvaccinated people to face new restrictions in next 24 hours: NCOC

    Strict restrictions will be enforced for non-vaccinated individuals from October 1, 2021. National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced vaccination certificates will be made “mandatory for domestic travellers from October 1”.

    Confirming the news, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson said: “From October 1, only vaccinated passengers will be able to travel on all domestic and international flights of PIA,” reports Geo News.

    “Vaccination certificates will be checked at the airport upon receipt of the boarding card,” he said.

    People won’t be allowed to use railway and airline services without showing their vaccination cards.

    People who do not get vaccinated will not be able to enter wedding halls, shopping malls, hotels and guest houses from tomorrow [October 1].

    On the other hand, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that pregnant women should also get vaccinated.

    He reiterated that children’s vaccination is also necessary to continue educational activities.

  • All students will be declared ‘pass’ in board exams, confirms Shafqat Mahmood

    A decision has been made to pass all the students in board exams. The decision was made during the meeting of Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) which was chaired by federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Dawn has reported.

    Speaking to Dawn, Shafqat Mahmood confirmed the decision and said 33 per cent marks would be awarded in each subject, which a student was unable to clear.

    “Education ministers of the country, including Sindh, participated in the meeting (physically and online) and took decisions,” the education minister added.

    Shafqat Mahmood further requested students to fully focus on their studies, adding, “There would be no reduced syllabus this academic session.”

    According to Dawn, the IPMEC has decided that the academic session would start in the country from August every year while board exams would be conducted in May-June instead of March-April.

    Federal Minister for Development Planning and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that the government is reopening schools in five districts of Punjab and one district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 16.