Scientists mull mystery of Pakistan's falling Covid-19 death rates

Officials leading govt's response admit the reasons behind the fall are not fully understood.

(Web Desk) – Two months after Pakistan appeared headed for a sky-rocketing COVID-19 outbreak, case numbers and death tolls have fallen in what doctors say is a welcome, but puzzling drop in the disease.

According to a report published in British newspaper The Telegraph, while neighbouring India has raced up the world ranking for countries badly hit by the new coronavirus, Pakistan is heading in the other direction.

A young population, robust immune systems and a system of localised “smart” lockdowns have all been touted as reasons for the fall, but health officials admit the reasons remain unclear.

In mid-June the daily death toll was pushing 150, and the outbreak was predicted to continue rising until at least August as lax social distancing during May s Eid holidays fed into a boom in cases. Senior officials were privately predicting the start of August was “not looking good” as oxygen supplies ran low and wards filled.

Instead recorded deaths fell sharply and now hover around 20 per day. The daily tally of cases has fallen from more than 6,000 each day to well below 1,000 and restaurants have reopened as remaining lockdown precautions have been lifted. Pakistan has recorded a total of 290,000 cases and 6,200 deaths.

Officials leading the government s response say it is too early to declare victory, and admit the reasons behind the fall are not fully understood.

“One ought to have a little humility in this,” said Dr Faisal Sultan, an infectious diseases expert who worked as Imran Khan s adviser for Covid-19. “There are always great unknowns in science and epidemiology and complex social sciences and interactions. If anyone says they really know a final answer, they are wrong.”

Coronavirus kills ten Pakistanis, infects 630 in one day

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan has reported ten deaths in last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 291,588. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 6,219, Dunya News reported on Friday.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 630 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours.

Province-wise Details

Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Till now 127,381 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 95,958 in Punjab, 35,545 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 12,424 in Balochistan, 15,453 in Islamabad, 2,604 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 2,223 in Azad Kashmir.

Furthermore 2,350 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Sindh, 2,188 in Punjab, 1,243 in KP, 139 in Balochistan, 175 in Islamabad, 63 in GB and 61 in Azad Kashmir.

Tests and Recoveries

Pakistan has so far conducted 2,389,365 coronavirus tests and 25,613 in last 24 hours. 273,579 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 722 patients are in critical condition.