Tag: covid pandemic

  • 25 people lose their lives to Covid in 24 hours, highest death rate since October

    25 people lose their lives to Covid in 24 hours, highest death rate since October

    According to the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 7539 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours with 25 people losing their lives to the deadly virus, the highest death rate since October 14. The COVID-19 positivity rate in the country is over 10 per cent from eight consecutive days.

    On Wednesday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 1,446 coronavirus cases, the highest number of infections in a single day since the pandemic began. In April 2021, the province had recorded 1,265 cases of Covid-19 in a single day.

    Peshawar’s positivity rate was 35.89 per cent on Wednesday. Morever, the positivity rate in Karachi has reached to 26.91 per cent and in Lahore the positivity rate was 15.25 per cent in the last 24 hours.

    Read more- Schools to close in Lahore if more than three Covid cases found, 5,000 school tests a day

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  • UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that a travel ban imposed because of the Covid pandemic that cuts off any one country or region as “not only deeply unfair and punitive – they are ineffective.”, report Geo News.

    Guterres said that tests should continually be performed on travelers to reduce the threat of transmission in other parts of the world.

    He further added, “We have the instruments to have safe travel. Let’s use those instruments to avoid this kind, of allow me to say, travel apartheid, which I think is unacceptable.”

    The new variant of the coronavirus, which was previously identified as B.1.1.529 infection was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24 and named it Omicron.

    Several countries, including Pakistan, have completely banned flights from some countries in Africa.

    In African countries, the rate of vaccination was recorded as very low which Guterres has previously alarmed the world about. The main reason for the lack of vaccination was the inequality distribution of vaccines and low immunisation rates which became “a breeding ground for variants.”

    The annual meeting was also held between the United Nation and African Union to solve the concern of the travel ban.

    Speaking from the Joint-Conference with UN Secretary-General, African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat also said that the travel ban cannot be justified.

  • Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    An Indonesian man with Covid-19  boarded a flight from Jakarta to Ternate after wearing a niqab disguising as his own wife.

    As per reports, the man, who has been publicly identified only by the initials “DW,” boarded a Citilink domestic flight from Jakarta to Ternate wearing a burqa that covered him from head to toe.

    The man’s wife had tested negative for the virus so he attempted to use her ID and negative results to travel.

    A flight attendant reportedly told authorities that she saw “DW” go into bathroom of the plane, then came out wearing men’s clothes instead of the niqab.

    She reported it to the airport authorities in Ternate, who held the passenger  once he disembarked from the plane. 

    Read More: Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid Covid restrictions

    A health officer instantly tested him for Covid, and the PCR result came positive.  

    Ternate Covid task force operational head Muhammad Arif Gani said: ‘The airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment, and then taking him in an ambulance to his house to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers.’

    Once he will be done with quarantine period, police said they intend to prosecute the man.

    Mr Gani said airport security will be updated with extra screening in response to the incident.

  • Man walks into govt office wearing birds’ nest as he couldn’t afford a mask

    Man walks into govt office wearing birds’ nest as he couldn’t afford a mask

    As the deadly second wave of COVID-19 ravages India, authorities have made the use of face masks in public mandatory and announced that violators will be fined Rs 1,000.

    Read more – Mattress factory sealed for stuffing used face masks instead of cotton

    A shepherd hailing from Telangana, India who could not afford a face mask came up with an innovative solution to avoid getting fined.

    According to details, Mekala Kurmayya had to visit the government office to collect his pension but could not afford a face mask. Knowing he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the office without a face mask, the Telangana shepherd made a face mask from a bird’s nest and wore it on his his face before stepping into the office.

    While that doesn’t look very comfortable, it appears to have gotten the job done.

    India has reported 19,925,500  cases so far. As of Monday morning, 218,959 people had died in the country.