Ashfaq Ahmed, Associate Editor - Online

Dubai: Unlike rest of the world, most coronavirus cases in Pakistan are young adults, revealed the country’s health minister.

“Some 24 per cent of the confirmed cases in Pakistan so far are between 21 to 30 years of age,” said Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health.

He said that pattern of COVID-19 cases are is different than other countries where most cases comprise of elderly people. In China, the contagion was the highest among elderly people aged 65 years and above.

Total tally of COVID-19

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan jumped to 1,106 on Thursday after new cases were reported in Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. So far, eight coronavirus infected patients have died in Pakistan while 21 have recovered. New evidence from the United States and Europe also drew attention toward young adults contracting Covid-19.

“The fact that Pakistan has a higher young population as compared to China and many other affected countries, explains why a majority of the confirmed cases in Pakistan constitute young adults,” explained Dr Rana Safdar, Chief Epidemiologist at the National Institute of Health as reported by The News.

More cases among men

Presenting further analysis of data as the number of confirmed cases in Pakistan crossed the 1,100 mark, Dr Mirza said that local transmission of the virus stood at seven per cent meaning that 93 per cent of the confirmed patients contracted the disease in countries already affected by it. Most COVID-19 patients are those who have travelled to Iran for pilgrimage and their families. The infected patients comprise of 64 per cent men and 36 per cent women.

Dr Mirza said that around 5,225 people are currently isolated in quarantine facilities across Pakistan. Of these, 23% had tested positive, while all others were being sent back home with explicit instructions for protection.

Rupee crashes

Pakistan rupees crashed further on the second consecutive day with exchange rate of Rs166 against US$1. The rupee has lost around Rs12 in the past one month to Rs166 On Thursday compared to Rs154.23 closing on February 28. The Pakistani currency depreciated a fresh Rs4.40 on Thursday to Rs166 against the US dollar in intraday trade in the interbank market.

The rupee is trading beyond its all-time low closing at Rs164.05 on June 27, 2019, some nine months ago. This is all happening in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic which kept taking toll on people and global economy, including Pakistan.

Pakistan coronavirus cases on Thursday

(official figures)

Total cases: 1,106

Deaths: 8

Recovered: 21

Sindh: 421

Punjab: 323

Balochistan: 131

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 121

Islamabad: 25

Gilgit-Baltistan: 84