Pakistan's Covid positivity rate creeps up to 3.4%

The positivity rate of Covid-19 continues to rise in Pakistan and is now at 3.41 per cent; a three-month high since March 10, 2022.

According to the National Institution of Health (NIH), 641 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, while two people succumbed to the virus and 119 patients were in critical care. More than 18,000 Covid tests were conducted across the country.

Data from the health department highlighted that Karachi, with a 19.09% Covid positivity rate, was affected the most by the disease.

The metropolis conducted over 2,000 tests from which 390 people tested positive for the virus.

Karachi was followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan and AJK's Muzaffarabad with positivity rates of 5.95% and 4.62% respectively.

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The overall death toll in the country currently stands at 30,387, according to official data.

PM urges adherence to SOPs

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to his official Twitter handle to urge the entire nation to follow instructions and SOPs for Covid in view of the recent resurgence.

“Our frontline workers and doctors have made many sacrifices to keep us safe. We must not waste these gains against Corona”, the premier said.

Variants and prevention

The sub-variants of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 are accounting for most of the new cases.

Health authorities have advised people to restart following precautionary measures such as wearing facemasks, sanitising hands, and maintaining social distance to prevent another outbreak of the pandemic.

A member of the Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 explained that the immunity level among people was decreasing and the efficacy of vaccines, which was once 95%, had fallen to around 80-85% as the virus was continuously mutating.

Earlier this week, the NCOC made mask-wearing mandatory on all domestic flights, railways, and public transport within the country. It directed all provinces and regions to administer booster vaccine doses on a priority basis to further improve protection against Covid-19 transmission.