Pakistan’s Covid-19 positivity rate falls below 2% for second time a week

According to the National Command and Operation Center’s latest data Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity rate dipped below 2% for the second time this week Saturday morning.

Another 36 people died from COVID-19 in the country in the last 24 hours as the country continues to see a gradual improvement in the pandemic situation.

Earlier in the week, the country had recorded a positivity rate of 1.69%.

At least 46,842 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, out of which 935 came back positive.

The total number of deaths from coronavirus now stands at 22,188 and the total number of cases has reached 953,842, while 898,944 people have recovered from the virus so far. The active number of cases stand at 32,710.

Warnings of a fourth wave

Federal Minister for Planning and National Command and Control Centre head Asad Umar has warned of a fourth wave of coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan next month.

In a tweet uploaded on Friday, Asad said that the new wave is possible in July urging the people to strictly follow coronavirus guidelines to stay safe.

The federal minister said that the NCOC in its meeting analysed data which hinted that another wave of the pandemic can hit Pakistan if safety protocols are not implemented.

“Reviewed the artificial intelligence-based disease modelling analysis today in NCOC. In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and a continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July,” he tweeted.

“Please adhere to SOPs and vaccinate as soon as possible,” he added.

The third Covid-19 wave which hit the country in February proved deadlier than previous ones. During the third wave, the number of active cases in Pakistan crossed the 50,000 mark on March 31.

Within one month, Pakistan’s coronavirus figures almost doubled as on April 29, the country’s active cases crossed the 90,000 mark.

Pakistan reported the highest coronavirus positivity ratio of 11.63 percent on April 4. As per the NCOC, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country stand at 952,907, while 897,834 people have so far recovered from the virus.

Currently, there are nearly 33,000 active cases and the nationwide death toll stands at 22,152.

According to the NCOC’s data, during the first wave, the number of active cases surpassed the 50,000 mark in June 2020 and then started to decline and finally, dropped to less than 6,000 by September.

The second wave of the pandemic hit the country in October after which the NCOC introduced restrictions, among which included shutting down schools and other educational institutions.

By December, the number of active case had exceeded 50,000 and then, gradually come down to the 16,000 mark in February 2021.

Pakistan kicked off its vaccination campaign on February 2 and has so far administered 14,165,288 doses.

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