Pakistan's Covid positivity ratio crosses 3% as number of daily cases rises

Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio was recorded at 3.16% while the number of cases continued to be over 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day.

During the last 24 hours, 49,658 tests were conducted out of which 1,572 came out positive. The nationwide coronavirus tally has now increased to 1,304,058.

Meanwhile, the virus claimed seven more lives, taking total fatalities to 28,969. The critical number of cases now stands at 604.

Moreover, 325 people recovered during the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 1,258,657.

Covid-19: Pakistan reports over 1,000 positive cases for third straight day

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said 706,192 doses were administered during the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 162,115,885.

On Saturday, Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio was recorded at 2.89%.

Earlier this week, NCOC head Asad Umar said that the authorities were not considering imposing a lockdown in the wake of the Omicron variant. The Planning, Development and Special Initiatives minister added that they are looking at the coronavirus numbers very closely.

Similarly, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said on Friday that the authorities were not considering imposing a lockdown in the province.

The Sindh government has recently made coronavirus vaccination mandatory for students aged 12 and above to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

Meanwhile, Karachi is launching a door-to-door campaign to vaccinate women, who are lagging behind men in rates of coronavirus inoculation as the country enters a fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Karachi: Door-to-door drive to vaccinate women being launched

The provincial government’s campaign will use female health workers, who have long played an instrumental role in country-wide polio vaccination campaigns in Pakistan.

“We have found that a sizable population of housewives are unvaccinated, and they socialize and attend weddings without face masks,” Qasim Siraj Soomro, parliamentary secretary health of the Sindh government, told Reuters. In contrast, the rate of vaccination among male family members who go out to work is higher than the rate among women, he added.

The first case of the Omicron variant was reported on Dec. 13 in Karachi, and the federal government has acknowledged that a fifth pandemic has started in the country, with Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad seeing most of the cases.

About 70 million people in Pakistan, or 32% of the population, have had two vaccine doses.

The government has authorized booster doses for citizens over the age of 30 from Monday. Children over the age of 12 are being offered vaccinations at their schools.