The first three weeks of June saw not only a rapid spread of the new coronavirus but deaths attributed to the COVID-19 also stood at around a daily average of 100.
While the country, since the last week of June, has witnessed a significant decrease in the number of coronavirus infections amid conflicting claims regarding what has led to the drop, Pakistan has an optimistic recovery rate as 67.5% of people who had contracted the virus have so far recovered.
While it is still unclear if the virus has already peaked in Pakistan or not, testing, active cases and the recovery rate are the major factors proving helpful in estimating not only the spread of the virus but also the pandemic situation.
So far, July hasn’t been as bad as last month as government statistics from the first two weeks show there has been an increase in COVID-19 recoveries while the number of new cases has also dropped significantly.
While the reason behind the sudden drop still remains unclear as government boasts of its successful strategy and experts attribute the decline to Pakistanis’ better immunity due to exposure to various vaccinations, it cannot be denied that the drop has been led to also because of lower testing as compared to the month of June.
People are realising that they would recover if they have mild symptoms and only need to isolate themselves without actually heading out to get tested, surveys suggest.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Heath Dr Zafar Mirza has also confirmed that not many people are voluntarily showing up to get tested anymore. “We are unable to conduct as many tests as we were earlier, despite having a daily capacity 60,000. Pakistan has set up more than 125 labs for COVID-19 testing but we need human resources to run those labs as the testing capacity needs to continuously be enhanced.”
Meanwhile, a majority of people are also making use of telehealth services by consulting their doctors over the phone or contacting the government’s coronavirus helpline (1166). According to a doctor working at a COVID-19 helpline centre, she alone receives around 40 calls a day for medical advice.
