Coronavirus updates, November 25: Latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from Pakistan and around the world
Nationwide confirmed coronavirus cases jump past 382,800; death toll crosses 7,800; global death toll tops 1,407,000
Updated Wednesday Nov 25 2020
Pakistan's COVID-19 tally rose to 382,892 on Wednesday after 3,009 new cases emerged in the past 24 hours across the country.
The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 9:00 am, November 25, is as follows:
Total confirmed cases: 382,892
• Sindh: 166,033
• Punjab: 115,786
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 45,314
• Balochistan: 16,891
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 27,979
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 4,573
• AJK: 6,316
Deaths: 7,803
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 1,339
• Punjab: 2,904
• Sindh: 2,858
• Balochistan: 164
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 96
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 291
• AJK: 151
More than 59,671,202 infections have been confirmed globally with over 1,407,542 deaths, according to the John Hopkins University tally.
End of live updates for November 25
11:59pm — Istanbul, Turkey — Govt announces asymptomatic coronavirus case numbers for first time since July
Turkey recorded 28,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 6,814 with symptoms, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, the first time since July Ankara has included asymptomatic cases in the total.
The total was by far the highest reported by the government since the outbreak began. The previous daily high, which only included symptomatic cases, was 7,381, recorded on Tuesday.
Ankara had only been reporting symptomatic cases since the summer, which critics said masked the true scale of the outbreak.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Koca unexpectedly said Ankara would begin announcing the total numbers.
"In line with requests from our people, we plan on including positive cases that do not show symptoms in the daily table," he said, adding that around 80% of people who test positive were asymptomatic or lightly symptomatic.
11:19pm — Washington, US — CDC reports 259,005 deaths from coronavirus
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 12,498,734 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 165,282 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,989 to 259,005.
11:07pm — Hyderabad, Pakistan — SAU postpones exams
The Sindh Agricultural University has postponed its examinations, while the varsity will remain closed from November 26 to January 10, 2021, a spokesperson said.
10:51pm — Global coronavirus cases surpass 60 million infections: Reuters tally
The global tally of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 60 million on Wednesday, with the pace of new infections accelerating and the United States reporting record numbers of hospitalizations, according to a Reuters tally.
Officials in the United States, the worst-affected country in the world, urged Americans to stay home for the imminent Thanksgiving holiday as soaring numbers of COVID-19 patients pushed medical professionals to the brink.
The United States has reported 1 million new COVID-19 cases in less than a week, taking its total reported infections to over 12.5 million and its death toll to 260,000, according to the Reuters data based on official statements.
Globally, infections stood at 60.005 million and deaths at 1.4 million.
Read complete story here.
10:30pm — PMC to hold special exam for COVID-19 positive students
The Pakistan Medical Council announced Wednesday that a special exam would be held on December 13 for students who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a statement said.
"The Medical & Dental Council has approved the holding of a Special MDCAT Examination for COVID-19 positive students," it said.
read complete story here.
10:10pm — Cape Town, South Africa — Western Cape officials warn of COVID-19 resurgence
South Africa's Western Cape province, home to tourist hub Cape Town, is experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, its premier said on Wednesday after new cases jumped 52.1% in the past week.
The Western Cape emerged as Africa's first regional hotspot towards the end of March when the new coronavirus spread via tourists into local communities, following the first confirmed positive case in South Africa earlier that month.
"The Western Cape government is deeply concerned about the growing number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations in the province, which can now be considered as an established resurgence," premier Alan Winde said in a statement.
Issuing a hotspot alert for the City of Cape Town's metro of around 4.5 million people, Winde said a resurgence occurred when the number of active cases increased week-on-week by more than 20%.
WATCH: WHO answers questions on how viruses enter human population
8:45pm — Madrid, Spain — Govt considers limiting Christmas celebrations to six people
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his government was considering limiting Christmas celebrations to six people in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"This is not a number we have pulled out of nowhere," Sanchez told a news conference with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte in Mallorca.
"It is a number that health professionals, scientists have told us is sufficiently rigorous and restrictive to prevent another surge in infections," he said.
The restrictions will be negotiated with regional authorities, meaning some changes could still be introduced.
Some regional health chiefs, including in Catalonia and Madrid, are advocating for a less stringent limit of 10 people for holiday gatherings.
8:15pm — Moscow, Russia – HIV, TB tests fall in East Europe and Central Asia due to COVID-19
Testing for HIV and tuberculosis has fallen in Eastern Europe and Central Asia during the coronavirus pandemic and could lead to higher mortality rates, a UN special envoy for AIDS said.
Restrictions to curb the new coronavirus and the repurposing of health facilities to treat COVID-19 patients has contributed to fewer HIV and TB cases being detected, said Michel Kazatchkine, U.N. Special Advisor to the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"The consequence of that will be further delay for the region in reaching the UN targets, most likely increased mortality," he told an online briefing.
In the first half of 2020, Russia's Federal AIDS Center reported 38,126 new HIV infections, some 20.5% fewer than in the first six months of 2019.
The center attributed the decline to a decrease in the number of HIV tests carried out and a fall in the number of patients visiting AIDS centres.
7:59pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan obtains rapid test kits that can detect coronavirus within 20 minutes
In its fight against COVID-19 which has lately been increasingly affecting the population, Pakistan has decided to procure "rapid test kits" that can diagnose the presence of coronavirus in a person's body within 20 minutes.
According to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), the registration of the rapid test kit has been duly approved.
Confirming the news, the chief executive officer (CEO) of DRAP Asim Rauf said that the kit will detect the presence of the virus within 20 minutes and people will not have to wait for 24 hours to get the results.
Read complete story here.
6:45pm — Lahore, Pakistan — 'Wearing a mask easiest precaution': PM Imran Khan
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday people to act responsibly and wear masks amid the second coronavirus wave, as it is the "easiest precaution one can take".
Addressing a media briefing in Lahore, he expressed concern that the daily death toll has now hit 50 from single digit figures just two weeks ago.
He said that Pakistan will avoid closing down factories and businesses, as people's livelihoods are linked to these. "We cannot render the daily wage worker unemployed."
"But I strongly urge all factory, shop and shopping mall owners to strictly enforce safety protocols. And the easiest thing to do is just to wear a mask."
PM Imran said Pakistan's exports are on the rise and "we are ahead of India and Bangladesh".
Read complete story here.
6:35pm — Jamshoro, Pakistan — SU to remain closed from Nov 26-Dec 24
Sindh University Jamshoro, its campuses, and schools will remain closed from November 26 to December 4, 2020, on account of winter vacation in pursuance of an announcement made by the government.
According to the notification issued by the varsity, during winter break of almost a month, the principal officers along with a minimum required workforce and officeholders rendering essential services have been asked to be perfrom their duties as usual.
6:22pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Karachi University postpones exams scheduled from Nov26
The University of Karachi on Wednesday postponed all the exams that were scheduled to take place from November 26, a statement from the varsity said.
"The University of Karachi has postponed the examinations scheduled from November 26, 2020, till further orders, the KU Controller of Examinations Dr Syed Zafar Hussain [said]," the statement said.
5:36pm — Lahore, Pakistan — Punjab closes medical, dental colleges, suspends MBBS, BDS exams
Punjab has closed all medical and dental colleges and suspended MBBS and BDS exams in the province in pursuance of the National Command and Operations Centre, a notification said.
"All the public and private medical colleges, dental colleges, nursing schools/colleges, paramedical/allied health sciences schools/colleges shall remain closed with effect from 26 November 2020 till 24 December 2020," the notification said.
5:05pm — Beijing, China — Coronavirus risk to consumers from cold chain products 'very low', says official
The risk to consumers of catching the coronavirus from cold chain food products was "very low," a senior Chinese official said, after China increased inspections of imported frozen foods to the irritation of its trade partners.
The World Health Organization has also said the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen food is low.
China's screening of cold chain products, which include frozen and other perishable items that must be kept cold, has slowed the trade.
"The risk of consumers catching coronavirus through general contact of cold chain food products and their outer packaging is very low," said Li Ning, deputy director at China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, citing steps by the authorities to prevent goods from passing on the virus.
Screening of cold chain products for the virus showed the detection ratio was 0.48/10,000, officials said.
But Li told a news briefing there was still a risk of infection and those most at risk included "handlers, who repeatedly came into contact with the outer packaging of imported cold-chain food in a particular environment."
4:38pm — Lahore, Pakistan — Punjab suspends library services
Punjab, in the light of the second coronavirus wave, has suspended library services in the province, Director-General Libraries Ayesha Saeed said.
50% of the staff will perform duties in libraries from November 26, the director-general said, adding that the libraries have been informed about the NCOC's decisions.
No service will be provided to book readers and members in libraries, she added.
4:18pm — Tehran, Iran — Highest daily coronavirus infections of 13,843 recorded
Iran registered on Wednesday a daily record high of 13,843 new coronavirus cases, the health ministry said, pushing the national tally to 894,385 in the Middle East's worst-hit country.
Ministry's spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that the death toll rose by 469 in the past 24 hours to 46,207.
Iran's health officials have voiced alarm over a surge in infections, urging the nation to adhere to the health protocols, including wearing face masks and social distancing.
On Saturday, Iran introduced tougher restrictions for two weeks to stem a third wave of coronavirus infections, including closing non-essential businesses and travel curbs.
4:00pm — Vaccine for widespread use will not be available before Quarter two of 2021 at least, says Dr Faisal Sultan
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that Pakistan will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine most likley in the second quarter of 2021.
The SAPM also shared that the government has formed two committees to determine which vaccine the country should get.
Dr Sultan also said that the government's first priority will be front-line workers and people who are aged over 60.
"They will get the first available set of vaccines. While we have not placed any orders as yet, we are in very active negotiations with five or six manufacturers," said Dr Faisal Sultan.
Fore the complete interview click here.
3:30pm — Prague, Czech Republic — Free COVID tests for Czechs to start Dec 18, says minister
The Czech Republic should begin offering free antigen tests for COVID-19 for all who want them from December 18, Health Minister Jan Blatny was quoted as saying in an interview on Wednesday.
The Czech Republic has been one of the worst-hit countries in Europe in the second wave of the pandemic. It is set to ease some of its measures that have been in place for weeks had have helped to slow the spread of novel coronavirus infections.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday he wanted free testing on a voluntary basis before Christmas, expanding the use of antigen tests, which are faster and logistically easier than standard PCR (swab) tests but less accurate.
Other countries have used the tests for mass testing.
"The idea is very simple: during the first three weeks in December, when we will all go shopping, some of us will likely get infected... that should show around Christmas," Blatny told SeznamZpravy.cz news website.
The country of 10.7 million has shown one of Europe's fastest per-capita rises in coronavirus infection since September although the incidence has slowed in the last few weeks.
2:45pm — Warsaw, Poland — Poland reports new daily record of 674 coronavirus-related deaths
Poland on Wednesday reported a new daily record of 674 coronavirus-related deaths, while new daily coronavirus cases surpassed 15,000.
The country reported 15,362 new daily coronavirus cases, amounting to a total of 924,422 confirmed cases and 14,988 deaths.
2:00pm — Moscow, Russia — Russia reports record 507 new coronavirus deaths
Russia reported a record 507 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, taking its national death toll to 37,538 since the pandemic began.
Authorities also confirmed 23,675 new cases of the virus, including 4,685 in Moscow, pushing the total number of infections to 2,162,503 since the start of the outbreak.
1:30pm — Brussels, Belgium — EU must not relax COVID-19 measures too quickly, says president
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday against relaxing coronavirus lockdown measures too quickly, telling the European Parliament there was a risk of a third wave of infections.
"I know that shop owners, bartenders and waiters in restaurants want an end to restrictions. But we must learn from the summer and not repeat the same mistakes," von der Leyen said. "Relaxing too fast and too much is a risk for a third wave after Christmas," she told EU lawmakers.
1:00pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Medical team arrives to test judges and staff at Federal Judicial Complex
A medical team arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex in Islamabad to test the special judges and staff.
The team was summoned by the registrar of the accountability courts after five employees of three different courts tested positive for the virus
12:45pm — PML-F's former MNA Jadam Mangrio loses life to coronavirus
Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Vice President Faqeer Jadam Mangrio passed away due to coronavirus, confirmed a spokesman of the party on Wednesday.
12:30pm — Punjab notifies closure of schools, madressahs and tuition centres from Nov 26
Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Wednesday shared the notification regarding the closure of schools in the province announcing that academies, tuition centres and seminaries will be closed in the province as well.
“All Public and Private Schools, Academies, Tuition Centers & Madrasas to be closed starting tomorrow 26th November 2020. No exceptions,” said the minister as he tweeted the notification.
Read more here.
12:15pm — Tokyo, Japan — Tokyo governor asks bars, restaurants to shut early amid COVID-19 spike
Bars and restaurants in Japan's capital of Tokyo will be asked to close early in a bid to halt coronavirus infections, Governor Yuriko Koike said on Wednesday.
Businesses would be asked to close by 10 pm from Saturday until Dec 17 and will eligible for cash assistance from the government, Koike said, urging people to stay home as much as possible.
The number of new virus patients in Tokyo has surged above 500 for several days with serious cases at 51, the highest since a state of emergency was lifted in May. There were 401 new cases reported in the capital on Wednesday.
12:00pm — Berlin, Germany — German states plan to relax virus rules for Christmas
Germany’s 16 federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year, offering some relaxation of coronavirus restrictions to let families and friends celebrate together, a draft proposal showed on Tuesday.
Leaders have also agreed to dramatically boost capacity on state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn through the winter months, effectively making carriages window-seat only to reduce the chance of passengers infecting each other.
The premiers of the states are due to agree plans with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller told ARD television he was confident the measures, agreed by the leaders late on Monday, would be adopted.
The premiers agreed to extend a national “lockdown light”, introduced on November 2, until December 20 to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will keep bars, restaurants and entertainment venues shut while schools and shops stay open.
They also agreed to reduce the number of people allowed to meet to five from December 1.
11:45am — Paris, France — Macron eyes COVID-19 vaccination starting by year-end
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, could start being administered as soon as the end of the year in France if approved by regulators.
“We are going to organise a swift and massive vaccination campaign,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation detailing how the country would start easing a lockdown this weekend.
“We will very likely, and pending authorisation by health authorities, start vaccination of the most vulnerable populations, hence the elderly, as soon as the end of December, early January,” he said, adding other population groups would be offered the vaccination consecutively.
Vaccination would not be compulsory, Macron said.
Governments in Europe are working to map out what could be the biggest vaccination scheme in decades.
The task appears particularly daunting in France, which has one of the world’s lowest levels of trust in vaccines.
According to an Ipsos poll for the World Economic Forum, only 59% of French respondents said they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if it became available, compared with 67% in the United States and 85% in Britain.
Macron said a scientific committee would be established to monitor vaccinations and that a group of citizens would also take part to ensure transparency.
11:30am - Islamabad, Pakistan — Coronavirus should not be politicised: Shibli Faraz
Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz on Wednesday said that an issue like the coronavirus should not be politicised.
The minister said that the parliamentary committee of coronavirus will meet today under Speaker Asad Qaiser’s chairmanship and hoped that the opposition leaders would attend the meeting and give their recommendations for dealing with the disease.
“The issue of public’s health and life should go ahead with consultation,” said Faraz.
11:00am — Singapore nearly virus free after local cases and clusters cease
Having once had the highest COVID-19 rate in Southeast Asia, Singapore has all but eradicated the virus after reporting 14 days without any new local cases on Tuesday, and saying it had snuffed out the last cluster of infection at a worker dormitory.
The cramped dormitories for young, low-wage labourers, mainly from Bangladesh, India and China had been at the centre of the city-state's spiralling cases earlier this year.
While Singapore has reported zero local cases for two weeks, there has been a trickle of infected people arriving from abroad who have been immediately isolated, authorities say.
Singapore was one of the first countries to report a COVID-19 case outside of China, where the virus first surfaced, on January 23. It has recorded more than 58,000 cases, but nearly all them have recovered and its fatality rate is the world's lowest with just 28 deaths.
10:45am — New Delhi, India — Senior leader of India's Congress party dies of coronavirus complications
A senior leader of India's Congress party died of coronavirus related complications on Wednesday, his family said, a second veteran from the opposition group to fall victim to the virus in recent days, as total cases in the country touched the 9.2 million mark.
Ahmed Patel, a lawmaker who was party treasurer and was seen as close to the Gandhi family that leads the party, was detected with COVID-19 a month ago and died of multi-organ failure, his family said in a statement.
"I have lost an irreplaceable comrade, a faithful colleague and a friend," Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in a statement.
Earlier this week, another Congress veteran, Tarun Gogoi, died of health complications after contracting the virus in the eastern state of Assam, where he was chief minister for 15 years.
India reported 44,376 new infections and 481 deaths from the coronavirus, data from the health ministry showed on Wednesday. India has recorded 9.22 million infections, the second-highest in the world after the United States, and nearly 134,700 deaths.
10:30am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Those saying coronavirus will not do anything are an 'enemy' to people’s health, employment: Asad Umar
Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar said on Wednesday that those saying that coronavirus will not do anything are an “enemy” to people’s health and employment.
The minister passed the advice along with the data from the last 24 hours stating that the country reported 3,009 new cases and 59 deaths in the last 24 hours. He also added that 324 new patients were admitted in hospitals and there 116 more people went on oxygen beds.
10:00am — Mingora, Pakistan — Senior judge tests positive for coronavirus
A senior judge had tested positive for coronavirus in Swat on Tuesday, reported The News.
According to the health department the court was sealed after Senior Civil Judge Judicial Hamid Kamal tested positive for the virus.
He said that the blood samples of all the staff of the Senior Civil Judge Judicial Court had been sent to the laboratory for the corona test.
9:45am — Peshawar, Pakistan — CCPO tests positive for coronavrius
CCPO Mohammad Ali Gandapur went into quarantine at his home after he tested positive for coronavirus, reported The News.
A press release said the chief traffic officer Abbas Majeed Marwat would be acting head of the city police in absence of Gandapur.
9:30am — Karachi, Pakistan — 403 shops sealed, mall fined Rs500,000 over SOP violations
The district administrations of Karachi have sealed 403 shops in different parts of the city over non-compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised by the Sindh government to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
According to the information released by the district administrations, 53 shops at the Dolmen Mall, 320 at the Saima Paari Mall and 30 others selling clothes, electronic items and other products have been sealed over SOP violations.
9:15am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Second round of coronavirus sero-prevalence study completed
Pakistan landed in a select group of countries that have successfully completed the second round of COVID-19 sero-prevalence study, reported The News.
As a follow-up to the first round, the second round of sero-prevalence study was conducted in 10 selected districts of Pakistan in end of October. The Health Services Academy, in collaboration with multiple partners and with the support of the World Health Organisation, implemented this study.
The study was aimed at monitoring the exposure to COVID-19 by detecting antibodies in samples of blood taken from randomly selected individuals.
In the second round, about 7% individuals were detected to be exposed to COVID-19 around the time survey was conducted, which was before the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
The spread of COVID-19 is still higher in urban areas as compared to rural districts; however, the difference is decreasing over time if compared to the first round. It is recommended that appropriate SOPs and preventive measures are adopted in cities as well as smaller cities and villages by the general public.
The study also reveals that it is likely that many individuals are to remain asymptomatic, signifying the importance of using masks by all persons, on maintaining diagnostic vigilance and testing to ensure timely diagnosis of susceptible individuals.
9:00am — CDC may shorten COVID-19 quarantine period guidelines
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon shorten the length of self-quarantine period recommended after potential exposure to the coronavirus, a top official said on Tuesday.
Health authorities currently recommend a 14-day quarantine in order to curb transmission of the virus but an official said on Tuesday that there is evidence that the period could be shortened if patients are tested for the virus during their quarantine.
“Let me confirm that we are constantly reviewing the evidence and we are starting to have evidence that a shorter quarantine complemented by tests might be able to shorten that quarantine period from 14 days to shorter days,” a top US health official said on a Tuesday press call.
He did not say what the duration of a shorter quarantine period might be.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the new quarantine period would likely be between seven and 10 days and include a test to prove that the person no longer has COVID-19, citing a CDC official.
The official added that people might be more likely to comply with a shorter quarantine period, even if it meant some infections might be missed, the Journal reported.
He added that the decision to change the guidance is not final and experts are still reviewing data to make sure such a change would not put people at risk.
