Tag: Covid Positive

  • ‘Hospital inflow & critical care patients at highest level’, says Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar has said that critical patients admitted in hospitals due to covid-19 are at “highest level.”

    “As seen globally, impact of indian delta variant in Pakistan also shows that it spreads faster & increases chances of patients to need hospitalization,” wrote the minister in a tweet.

    “Right now both hospital inflow & critical care patients at highest level since start of covid,” he added.

    Asad also requested people to, “please follow sop’s & vaccinate.”

    Read more- No public transport after Oct 15 unless fully vaccinated: Asad Umar

    As per the National National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 4,103 cases of Covid-19 on September 2 in the country.

  • Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa has suggested that public sector and military hospitals should be open to the general public, reported Dawn.

    Justice Isa had recently contracted Covid-19 despite being vaccinated. His statement comes in relevance to the grave situation with the surging cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan.

    In a statement, Justice Isa said: “Since we are in a situation no less grave than a war, all public sector hospitals, including combined military hospitals and other armed forces hospitals, should be opened immediately to serve the people.”

    “Otherwise, class and social divides will further be exacerbated and people continue to suffer and die because of an unequal system,” said Justice Isa.

     “My wife and I were one of the initial lucky few in the country who were fully vaccinated as both of us were above 60; courtesy of the Chinese government. We took every precaution, including always wearing masks in public places, yet contracted the highly infectious Delta variant of the disease,” read the statement.

    “Even with the vaccination, I still had to be hospitalised. I am receiving excellent treatment from very competent doctors and attendants at the Quaid-i-Azam International Hospital. Such treatment is not within the reach of most [people],” added Justice Isa.

  • Two-week lockdown likely to be imposed in Sindh

    Two-week lockdown likely to be imposed in Sindh

     A decision on whether a two-week lockdown will be imposed in Karachi or not will be taken today during the provincial task force on coronavirus meeting at the Cheif Minister (CM) House on Friday.

    The Sindh health department has recommended clamping a two-week complete lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic in Karachi as the positivity rate has gone beyond an alarming 30 per cent in the megacity.

    Given the unsettling circumstances of the COVID-19 cases in Karachi, the task force has received a strong proposal to impose a complete lockdown in the metropolis.

    Medical experts and the health department suggested halting inter-city and intra-city commute for two weeks.

    It has been proposed that the educational institutes also remain closed for two weeks.

  • Delta variant most dominant in Karachi with 92 per cent cases

    Delta Variant has become the most dominant Covid-19 variant in Karachi, which accounts for 92 per cent of the infection cases in the city.

    “Our experts at the National Institute of Virology at the University of Karachi analysed 90 Covid samples on July 14 and 15, and of them, 83 or over 92 per cent, were of the Delta variant. This is an extremely alarming situation,” said Dr Iqbal Chaudhry, director of KU’s International Centre for Chemical & Biological Sciences.

    To deal with the rising number of Covid-19 cases, health officials have begun reserving more beds, wards, and human resources at two major tertiary-care hospitals in Karachi.

    “A surgical ward comprising 48 beds is being converted into a Covid-19 ward at the Civil Hospital Karachi [CHK], while the pulmonology ward at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre has also been put on standby to deal with the rising cases due to the Delta variant, which is now spreading like wildfire in the city,” a Sindh Health Department official told The News.

  • Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crosses 5 per cent

    Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crossed 5 per cent for the first time after nearly two months.

    The current infection rate stands at 5.2 per cent with a continuous spike in the cases.

    National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data from Thursday shows that 48,910 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours and 2,545 of them came back positive for coronavirus.

    With 47 new fatalities from the virus, the national death tally soared to 22,689.

    NCOC chief Asad Umar warned: “Indian variant has caused devastation in countries in the region.”

    Umar asked everyone to follow the directives necessary in relevance to Covid protocol and said, “Do not risk your own and others lives.”

  • Students vaccinated with Covaxin, Sputnik V, asked to get re-vaccinated in US

    Students at universities in the United States are being asked to re-vaccinate themselves if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with Indian-made Covaxin or Russia’s Sputnik V as these vaccinations are still not approved by World Health Organizations, Hindustan Times has reported.

    Milloni Doshi, 25 years of age who will be joining Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs soon and has already been administered two doses of Covaxin in India says, “I am just concerned about taking two different vaccines. They said the application process would be the toughest part of the cycle, but it’s really been all of this that has been uncertain and anxiety-inducing.”

    On the concerns of having two different vaccines, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Kristen Nordlund said: “Since Covid-19 vaccines are not interchangeable, the safety and effectiveness of receiving two different vaccines have not been studied.”

  • ‘Mild symptoms and quick recovery are because of vaccination’: Shafqat Mahmood

    ‘Mild symptoms and quick recovery are because of vaccination’: Shafqat Mahmood

    Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday said that he has tested negative for the coronavirus and has resumed work from today.

    The minister shared the news on Twitter: “By the grace of Allah, I have fully recovered. My latest two tests are negative. Going back to work today.”

    “The mild symptoms and quick recovery are without a doubt because of the vaccination,” Mahmood tweeted. He stressed that “vaccines work and are the best defence against this horrible disease”.

    Last month, Shafqat Mahmood tested positive for coronavirus.

  • Covid-19 vaccination of citizens over 18 to start June 3

    Covid-19 vaccination of citizens over 18 to start June 3

     The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided on Monday to start scheduling Covid-19 vaccination for citizens above 18 years of age from June 3.

    Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, tweeted: “In today’s NCOC meeting it was decided to start scheduling vaccination of registered 18 plus from Thursday the 3rd of June.”

    On May 27, the government started registering citizens aged 18 and above for vaccination against Covid-19.

    On Sunday, Asad Umar said that Pakistan set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after nearly 400,000 people received Covid jabs on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Asad Umar said that over 383,000 people received Covid jabs on Saturday, setting a new record of most vaccinations in a day.

    The country has a total of 921,053 Covid positive cases with a positivity rate of 4.0 per cent.

  • 28 passengers on one flight test positive for coronavirus

    Twenty-eight passengers, coming from Bahrain to Peshawar, tested positive for coronavirus at the Bacha Khan International Airport on Tuesday. 

    The airport’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Obaid-ur-Rehman Abbasi said rapid antigen tests were conducted on 130 passengers who arrived at the airport from Bahrain. 

    “The passengers who tested positive for the virus have been handed over to the district administration,” he said, adding that various areas of the airport had also been disinfected after the development.

    A week earlier, the CAA had noted, “with grave concern”, that passengers arriving in Pakistan from mostly Gulf countries, were testing positive for coronavirus.

    “Upon conducting an investigation into the issue, it has been found that passengers travelled to Pakistan using fake PCR negative test results and endangered not only passengers travelling with them, but also undermined the intense efforts being made at the national level to curb the spread of Covid-19,” said the authority, in a notification that was released on May 10. 

    “The onus of contributing towards this national cause does not fall on the authority alone but is a responsibility that has to be shared by all concerned stakeholders including airline operators,” the notification stated.

    The development is a worrying one as Pakistan, like many countries around the world, continues to struggle with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The current positive cases in the country stand at 882,928 with a positivity rate of 8.2%.

  • ‘Rapid COVID-19 testing’ – CAA announces new SOPs for flights

    ‘Rapid COVID-19 testing’ – CAA announces new SOPs for flights

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued new provisions for airlines after a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. The decision came after many violations in SOP’s not being followed were reported.

    Airlines have been instructed to keep 20 per cent of their seats vacant and ensure social distancing between passengers. As per new directives, airlines violating the orders will be fined. Airport managers have been tasked to ensure that the SOPs are being followed.

    Earlier this week, the authority began rapid Covid-19 testing of international passengers at airports across Pakistan. According to the Health Ministry, through these tests, coronavirus reports will be obtained within 20 minutes.

    If reports are positive, passengers will have to isolate at a quarantine center at their own expense. Those who test negative will be allowed to go home but will have to stay indoors for a week.

    On May 1, the government decided to reduce inbound international flights to 20 per cent of the current measure.