Over 1,000 Covid cases reported for first time since July as second wave grips Pakistan

As many as 20 deaths were also recorded in the country in the past 24 hours

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan reported over 1,000 coronavirus cases on Friday for the first time since July when the country witnessed a decline in number of Covid-19 cases.

With 1,078 cases being reported the total tally of positive cases now stands at 332,186, whereas the death toll has hit 6,795.

According to the portal, 889 people also recovered from the virus in a day, taking the tally of recovered patients to 313,527.

With the threat of a second wave looming, the National Command and Operations Centre on Wednesday made wearing face masks mandatory in public.

The national body noted that the spread of the virus and the increased positivity ratio is 80 per cent in 11 major cities of Pakistan.

Planning Minister Asad Umar urged the people on Thursday to take precautions and follow Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) to control the “rising spread” of the pandemic, as the number of newly reported coronavirus cases touched the highest level in 70 days.

The minister sounded alarm in a tweet after the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) reported 908 new cases of the deadly virus during the last 24 hours, raising the number of total active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan to 11,695. The virus also claimed the lives of 16 more people.

“After more than 70 days the national covid positivity ratio was higher than 3% yesterday. Ncoc has tightened restrictions on some high risk public activities. However, the rising spread of the disease can only be controlled if people believe in the need for precautions,” Umar, who heads the NCOC, wrote.