ISLAMABAD: COVID-19 cases are continuing to slowly increase in Pakistan again with the positivity rate witnessing nearly a 2% jump within a span of just the last five days.
According to the latest data by the National Institute of Health – Islamabad (NIH), Karachi is the most affected city as the positivity rate rose above 21% after 138 new cases in the metropolis.
The country reported 309 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, which pushed the positivity rate to 2.22%. The fresh cases were detected after diagnostic tests on 13,941 samples.
Meanwhile, 80 patients are currently being treated in intensive-care units at different medical facilities across the country. However, no death from coronavirus was reported in the last 24 hours.
COVID-19 Statistics 24 June 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 13,941
Positive Cases: 309
Positivity %: 2.22%
Deaths: 00
Patients on Critical Care: 80— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) June 24, 2022
Moreover, the positivity rate in Sindh climbed to 6.1%, with a 15.85% positivity in Karachi alone. Despite a major drop in the city’s positivity rate since Thursday — when it stood at 21.23% — Karachi is still the most affected city in the country.
As per the NIH stats, the second most affected city in the country is Mardan with a 4.76% COVID-19 positivity rate.
With a positivity rate of 21.23%, the city has the highest number of cases of any town or city in the country with more half the reported national cases emerging from Karachi.
The health department’s data showed that a total of 650 patients were tested for the virus in the provincial capital and 138 tested positive in the last 24 hours.
The official Twitter handle of the Sindh government is still silent despite the massive hike in the positivity rate as it showed in the last post dated July 17, 2021.
— GOS-COVID19 (@19sindh) July 17, 2021
Amid rising fears of a sixth COVID-19 wave, the Sindh health department has expressed concerns in a letter to the Karachi and Hyderabad commissioners.
The health department directed the commissioners to ensure strict implementation of COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the two cities.
The SOPs include mask-wearing, social distancing, checking vaccination cards and limiting public transport occupancy to 70%.
The health department has expressed fear of a spread of COVID-19 sub-variants BA-5 and BA-4.