Single day Covid tally falls below 6,000

The single day tally of fresh Covid cases fell below 6,000 for the first time in a week, yet the national positivity ratio continues to hover over 10%, the official data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed on Wednesday.

The NCOC, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s synchronised  strategy to contain the coronavirus spread, also reported that 15 Covid patients died during the past 24 hours, while nearly 1,500 recovered from the infectious disease.

The forum said that 5,196 more people tested positive for coronavirus during the last 24 hours. It added that the highest number of new cases, 1,790, was registered in Sindh, followed by 1,534 in Punjab and 854 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the deaths, 7, also occurred in Sindh, it said.

The national positivity ratio was 10.17%, the NCOC said in its daily update, marking six straight days of more than 10% positivity rate. The number of active cases also rose to 86,124, including 1,293 patients in critical condition. The forum said 1,453 people recovered from the disease.

According to the official data, the highest positivity ratio of 41% was detected in Karachi, followed by 28% in Peshawar, 27% in Muzaffarabad and Hyderabad, 13% in Rawalpindi and Mardan, 11% in Lahore, Noshera, Islamabad and Abbottabad.

Read: "Single day Covid tally stays above 7,000"

The country is in the grip of a fifth wave of coronavirus pandemic, driven by the Omicron variant. Because of the rising number of cases, the NCOC had issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the spread of the disease.

On the instruction of the NCOC, several government departments have adopted strict measures to prevent the spread of the disease. On Tuesday night, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued directions to the airport staff across the country to wear masks.