Pakistan sees biggest daily rise of Covid cases in 100 days

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday reported over 2,000 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours – the first time it has crossed this threshold in over 100 days.

According to data shared by the National Command and Control Center, the positivity ratio has reached 4.70% and overall infections have jumped past 1.309 million.

The recovery ratio, on the other hand, stands at 96.2% with 1.26 million people recovering from the virus.

The country also registered 13 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest since December 15, 2021, pushing the death toll to 28,987, official figures showed.

The country’s partial vaccinations, as of Tuesday, moved up to 163.65 million after 811,901 more people received the jab, according to the NCOC.

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, Karachi’s coronavirus positivity ratio has moved past 20.22%, with the Sindh Health Department mulling over a 14-day “special vaccination programme” in several cities of Sindh.

Despite rising cases, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said a day earlier Pakistan would not undergo another lockdown and dismissed reports of schools’ closure.

The information minister, addressing a post-cabinet press conference, said the federal cabinet was informed that the COVID-19 positivity ratio had doubled in the country.

“But despite this, it is our resolve that we absolutely not impose a lockdown in Pakistan. Our economy cannot bear the burden [of another lockdown],” he said.

The information minister said “an excellent” vaccination campaign was underway and the government had invested $2 billion into the vaccines.

“Pakistan has a success story of dealing with coronavirus. We will not impose a lockdown. We will, however, monitor the situation. We urge everyone to wear masks,” he said.