Pakistan reported a record number of 2,255 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours on Wednesday, as the spread of the infection through local transmission showed a dangerous upward trajectory in a recent report published by the World Health Organisation Pakistan chapter.
The report presented a dismal picture in terms of local transmission cases in Pakistan, province by province, on a weekly basis.
The report showed that Balochistan had the highest rate of local transmission at 93%, and only 7% were imported cases.
At second number was Sindh, where 92% were local transmissions and 8% imported cases.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 84% were instances of the virus being locally passed on while 16% cases were foreign.
In the worst-hit Punjab, 15% were foreign cases while 85% of the reported cases had emerged through local transmission.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, 37% were imported cases while 63% were of local transmission. Meanwhile, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 17% were foreign cases while 83% were passed on locally.
Decrease in testing after peak
Pakistan’s testing capacity has faced a downward trajectory after peaking at an estimated 13,000 on May 9, according to the report.
On May 10 and 11, the number of tests dropped, fluctuating between 11,000 to 10,000.
The report said that Pakistan had 1,140 new cases of the coronavirus on May 11, 2020, which showed a reduction in number from 1,991 cases reported on May 9 — around 42.71%.
The number of cases reported since the beginning of the outbreak was 32,081 with 706 deaths (as per the report’s filing time). According to the breakdown, 6,661 were confirmed cases of hospitalization, with 281 reportedly in a critical condition.
The report estimated that 16,159 were positive cases either at home or isolation facilities.
It also said that 26.66% of the total cases, which stands at 8,555, were discharged after recovery. As of May 13, Pakistan reported more than 34,000 cases of the virus with more than 700 deaths.
