Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity rate soars to 9.71%; cases rise to highest since July 2

The country reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases after 3,795 people tested positive for the virus.

The last time Pakistan recorded its highest daily was on July 2 when it reported 4,087 cases. In the last 24 hours, the country tested 39,076 people. These news positive cases take the nationwide tally to 420,294.

Out of 3,795 cases, Sindh reported 2,013 cases, Punjab 807 cases, Balochistan 26 cases and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 456 new cases. Likewise, Islamabad reported 402 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 78 and 13 cases were reported in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The country also reported 37 fatalities, taking the total number to 8,398. Meanwhile, 1,530 more people have recovered from the deadly virus, taking the tally to 356,542. Currently, there are 55,354 active cases across the country of which 2,539 are in critical care.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was informed on Monday that the national positivity rate has been recorded at 9.71%. 81% of the positive cases have been detected in urban centres, DAWN reported.

Sindh has the highest positivity rate of 15.83% among provinces, while Karachi has the highest positivity rate among cities with 21.31%. Meanwhile, Azad Jammu and Kashmir's positivity rate is 11.93 % while, Balochistan has the third-highest positivity rate with 11.61 %.

In order to curb the spread of the virus, more than 4,500 smart lockdowns have been imposed in different areas across the country.