ISLAMABAD: Pakistani planning minister Asad Umar sounded alarm on Wednesday as the South Asian nation surpassed the grim milestone of 3,000 new infections in a single day.
After a peak of over 6,800 daily infections in June, the number fell to a low of 213 in August, and remained below 700 for most of the last three months.
But a second wave of the coronavirus is gathering momentum. The government said on Wednesday 3,009 people had tested positive on November 24, a new high, and 59 people had died in the last 24 hours. There are currently 42,115 active cases in Pakistan, as of November 25.
“A total of 3,009 crore cases were added, 59 deaths, 324 new patients were admitted to hospitals, 116 patients on oxygen beds ..... these are the statistics of one day,” Umar said on Twitter. “Whoever is telling you that nothing will happen to you because of coronavirus is the enemy of both your health and your livelihood.”
Pakistan ordered all schools and colleges shut from Thursday this week, as officials said on Monday the country had recorded its highest COVID-19 positivity ratio to date, at 7.46 percent, with 19 percent of the cases being reported from the education sector. Officials said hospitalizations due to the coronavirus had also doubled in the last two weeks.
Last week, Pakistan banned public political rallies after recording its highest daily coronavirus infections since July for four days running.
Several huge religious and anti-government public rallies have been held in major cities in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the ban, fearing hospitals would be overwhelmed as they were in June if people do not act responsibly.
“We have decided to ban public gatherings in the country, including ours planned over the weekend, as large crowds help in the spread of the virus,” Khan said on national television.
Despite the ban, opposition parties held a rally in Peshawar on Sunday as part of its movement to oust Khan’s government.
