Covid positivity ratio creeps up to 2.22%

The recent surge in new coronavirus cases continued on Friday, with the nationwide positivity ratio rising to 2.22% for the first time since the first week of March, according to data released by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Dubbed by health experts the sixth wave of Covid since its outbreak in the country in February 2020, the data showed that Sindh emerged as the new hotspot with 6.10% positivity ratio during the past 24 hours.

According to the NIH, 13,941 Covid tests were carried out across the country during the last 24 hours, out of which 309 came back positive, depicting 2.22% positivity ratio. This brought the national tally of Covid cases to 1,533,047.

There was no Covid death in the last 24 hours, but at least three people had died of the pandemic in the month of June so far – two on June 9 and one on June 15. The nationwide death toll from the disease was 30,385, according to official data.

The NIH said that 80 patients were receiving treatment in intensive care at various Covid-dedicated health facilities across the country. Among them, 79 patients were in critical condition.

Sindh, which witnessed the highest number of Covid cases during the last more than two years with a tally of 578,756 cases, appeared to be the epicentre of the sixth wave of the pandemic. The overall positivity rate in province was registered at 6.10% in the last 24 hours.

The highest rate across the country was recorded in Karachi, which was 15.85%. It was followed by 4.76% in Mardan, 2.38% each in Mirpur Azad Kashmir and Lahore, 2.24% in Peshawar, 1.63% in Islamabad, 1.52% in Rawalpindi and 1.42% in Gilgit.