Coronavirus positivity rate nearing 4% in Pakistan

• Pakistan reports 35 fatalities from coronavirus in last 24 hours.
• NCOC data shows 48,134 tests conducted on July 9, of which 1,828 came back positive for COVID-19.
• Pakistan's positivity rate is currently 3.79%.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's daily coronavirus case load stayed over 1,500 for the fourth consecutive day  after the country reported 1,828 new cases Saturday morning.

Another 35 people died of coronavirus in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally since the pandemic started to 22,555.

Latest data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre Saturday morning shows that after 48,134 tests were conducted on July 9, 1,828 people tested positive for coronavirus.

Pakistan's positivity rate is closing in on 4%, with the current rate at 3.79%. 

The total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan are currently 36,454.

According to a province-wise breakdown, the total cases reported in Sindh so far are 345,269, in Punjab 347,793, in Khyber Paktunkhwa 139,162, in Islamabad Capital Territory 83,513, in Balochistan 27,863, in Gilgit-Baltistan 6,769 and in Azad Jammu and Kashmir 20,935.

Read more: Daily coronavirus case and death counts slowly going up again in Pakistan

At least 912,295 people have recovered so far across Pakistan, making it a significant count.

According to NCOC's figures, the total number of cases has reached 971,304.

Pakistan rules out complete lockdown in case of a fourth coronavirus wave

Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar has rejected the possibility of a complete lockdown in case Pakistan experiences a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister, speaking at the oath taking ceremony of the newly appointed members of the National Youth Council (NYC), said he feared the fourth wave of the virus will start in July.

Read more: PMA warns of fourth coronavirus wave in Pakistan by July end, early August

Umar, however, said Pakistan will impose smart lockdowns across the country, as it had done before, to counter the virus, in case cases of the infection once again shoot up across the country. He added that the strategy had proven effective in stemming the spread of the virus in the past.

PM warns of a fourth COVID-19 wave

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had urged the masses to strictly observe the government's mandated COVID-19 standard operating procedures on Eidul Adha to keep the virus at bay.

PM Khan had warned the nation about the dangers of the Delta variant — which first emerged in India — and said that India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Indonesia are currently suffering because of it.

Read the full story here.