COVID-19 test positivity rate high in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan

ISLAMABAD: The coronavirus positivity rate in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan has remained above 5% in October to date.

While the percent positive rate – the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that came back positive - has been creeping up in Pakistan reaching 2.9% on October 24, its highest in over two months, it is still below the 5% threshold set by the World Health Organization.

Read more: Alarm bells ringing at NCOC as all indicators turn red

In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that the rate should remain below 5% for at least two weeks before governments can consider reopening the economy or easing restrictions.

On October 25, Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded a percent positive rate of 9.7%, as per a daily report issued by the WHO. While earlier this month, the rate went as high as 15.1% on October 15.

Read more: Coronavirus has infected 8,000 healthcare workers in Pakistan so far

Gilgit-Baltistan recorded a positive rate of 5.4% on October 25, as per the WHO report.

Other provinces and federating units have the following positivity rate: Balochistan, 1.8%, Islamabad, 3%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 0.6%, Punjab, 2.3% and Sindh, 3.4%.