Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate jumps to nine-month high

On Jan 20, 2022

Men and children wear protective masks along a street, blocked by barriers, after Pakistani authorities announced to re-impose lockdowns in selected areas in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Karachi, Pakistan June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

ISLAMABAD: The positivity rate in Pakistan jumped to a nine-month high Thursday morning after the infection rate was reported to be at 11.55 percent.

As many as 58,943 tests were conducted on Wednesday and of them, 6, 808 returned as negative, the second-highest daily case count since the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020, official figures showed.

The country is witnessing a rapid rise in infections due to the Omicron variant.

The highest daily toll was recorded on June 13, 2020, when the country reported 6,825 coronavirus cases, the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data showed.

The active cases, too, shot up and now stand at 51,094 from just 44,717 in the last 24 hours, official figures showed, with total deaths standing at 29,042 after five more people succumbed to the virus.