ISLAMABAD: The country recorded more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases for a second consecutive day, with Covid-19 positivity ratio in Karachi surging to around 40 percent.
According to the official data provided by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday, at least 4,027 people were infected by the virus across the country in the last 24 hours.
Pakistan conducted 51,236 tests during the same period, taking its overall positivity rate to 7.8 percent.
Karachi is witnessing an alarming surge in coronavirus cases during the fifth Covid-19 wave fuelled by Omicron variant. Out of 15,172 people who were tested for coronavirus, 2,670 came out positive in Sindh, according to the latest figures issued on Sunday.
Sindh reported 2,670 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the province to 500,955. According to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, 119 patients recovered overnight, lifting the tally to 472,125. He added that three more patients succumbed to the virus during the said period. So far 7,697 patients have succumbed to the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, the Sindh health department has decided to conduct random coronavirus testing of students across all schools of the province. The provincial health department has also issued directives to district health officers (DHO) in this regard via notification, according to Express News.
The notification stated that 100 samples will be collected from schools in each district of the province which will be sent to Dow Hospital laboratory to check disease prevalence. Based on the results, the provincial government will take final decision regarding closure of educational institutions.
At least 112 people contracted Covid-19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the past 24 hours, taking the total of confirmed cases in the province to 182,311. Health authorities said two people died due to the fatal disease, with the toll rising to 5,960. They further said that 20 patients recovered from the deadly virus in K-P overnight, pushing the recoveries to 175,432.
A day earlier, the Sindh Taskforce on Coronavirus meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, was informed that infection rate had increased to 35.3 percent in Karachi, 5.12 percent in Hyderabad and 2.4 percent in the rest of the province. However, it was assured that the situation remained under control.
The health department informed the meeting that at present, there was no pressure on the hospitals while Covid-19 patients were recovering fast and the death rate had fallen to 1.6 percent.
The chief minister directed for an audit of all the public and private hospitals to assess their facilities like beds, doctors, medicines etc. He also directed the health department for the Covid-19 preparation plan so that necessary and timely measures could be taken. He added that he would review the Covid situation again within the next few days so that necessary decisions could be taken accordingly.
