The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had been increasing thus far. However, in the latest reports by officials across the world including Pakistan, the cases of the lethal virus have reduced in the last week.
The minister for Planning Asad Umar said Sunday there has been a slowdown in the spread of the novel coronavirus and that a greater testing capacity in Pakistan has led to more cases being reported. While speaking to a TV program, he said the pandemic’s spread itself has decelerated over the past 10-12 days but that the testing capacity was bumped up two-fold, causing the number of cases to rise.
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Moreover, he added that previously some 2,500 to 3,000 tests were being conducted daily but the number has grown to 6,000 to 7,000. Umar said that the country still had limited testing capacity as compared to the rest of the world and that “We are testing on a limited basis”.
The minister said that while the demand for ventilators by the increasing number of patients is on the rise, the number of ventilators in the country is also due to increase soon, to around 2,000 by May.
He further said “The number of cases, in reality, is much higher than the ones we see. There are many cases that are asymptomatic.”
Fall in deaths due to coronavirus in France:
France reported a big fall in its coronavirus toll on Sunday, with 242 deaths in 24 hours, a drop of more than a third on the previous day. The epidemic has now claimed 22,856 lives in the country since the beginning of March, health officials said.
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The number of deaths in hospitals was 152, which was the lowest daily toll in five weeks, they said, while 90 people died in nursing and home care. The numbers of COVID-19 victims in intensive care also dropped, but only slightly, to 4,682. But officials said they were worried by the burgeoning critically ill patients suffering from other conditions.
More than 7,553 people were in intensive care units in France on Sunday, 50 per cent more than the country’s total capacity before the epidemic struck.
Overall, 28,217 people are being treated in hospital for the virus. With the country’s health system still under strain, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will set out his strategy for ending the lockdown before parliament on Tuesday.
The declining trend of death in Italy since last week
Italy reported its lowest coronavirus death toll in over a month on Sunday as the government prepared to announce a gradual easing of the country’s lockdown.
JUST IN: For the first time in a month, South Korea reports no new deaths from COVID-19 in a 24-hour period. https://t.co/hMP51XXSot
— ABC News (@ABC) April 24, 2020
The 260 daily fatalities reported by the civil protection service were the lowest since March 14. Italy’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 26,644, second to the United States.
No death in China since last week:
According to the National Health Commission in China, the country has experienced no coronavirus-infected death for the last 7 days. Moreover, there is also a significant decay in coronavirus patients in the country. This is because of China’s strategy of no travel across the cities. This has successfully reduced the rate of coronavirus patients.