Pakistan's Covid-19 positivity rate jumps to 6.1% as situation worsens

The fourth wave of coronavirus appears to be rearing its head in Pakistan as the country's coronavirus positivity ratio soared to 6.1%, the highest since May 21 when it stood at 6.43%.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data shows that 37,690 people were tested for the virus across the country during the last 24 hours. Of these 2,327 came out positive, taking the national tally to 983,719.

Thirty-one more people succumbed to the novel Covid-19, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,720. Overall, there are 2,388 critical cases and 43,670 active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan.

During the last 24 hours, Sindh reported 1,466 new cases and 25 deaths, Punjab recorded 364 infections and 4 deaths, Balochistan confirmed 116 cases and 1 death, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported no cases and deaths.

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Islamabad confirmed 183 infections, Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded 151 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death while Gilgit-Baltistan reported 47 cases.

Meanwhile, 562,051 doses of the Covid-19 vaccines were administered across the country on July 15. The NCOC said 22,222,701 doses have been administered in Pakistan so far.

On July 14, Pakistan registered the highest number of daily cases since May 29, while the national positivity ratio also shot past 5% for the first time since May 23.

This was the first time since May that the country reported more than 2,500 Covid-19 cases on a daily basis. On June 2, the country reported 2,028 new Covid-19 cases, while on May 29 it recorded 2,697 infections.

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On Thursday, another 65 cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus were detected in Karachi, pushing the tally to 100. The National Institute of Virology (NIV) at the University of Karachi, which tested 2,062 samples on July 12 and 13, said in a statement on Thursday that 163 results came back positive.

In a tweet, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said that there was a rapid build-up starting to take place in the hospital inflow of coronavirus patients. He further said that the Delta variant has caused devastation in countries in the region, urging people to take precautions and get themselves vaccinated.

"Do not risk your own and others' lives," the minister appealed.