Pakistan's coronavirus positivity rate over 10% for sixth consecutive day

By
M. Waqar Bhatti
|
Web Desk
|
People arrive at coronavirus testing centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, on December 19, 2022. — INP
People arrive at coronavirus testing centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, on December 19, 2022. — INP

  • Pakistan registers coronavirus positivity rate at 12.81%.
  • Officials expect more coronavirus curbs during this week.
  • 6,357 new coronavirus cases recorded in last 24 hours.


ISLAMABAD: The coronavirus positivity ratio of Pakistan remained above 10% for the sixth consecutive day, the National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) data showed Tuesday morning, as the spread of the pandemic does not seem to slow down.

The country recorded positivity rate of 12.81% as 6,357 new coronavirus cases were recorded after 49,595 tests were conducted across Pakistan in the last 24 hours, NCOC's figures showed.

Read more: COVID-19 numbers continue to climb fast in Pakistan during Omicron surge

With the detection of new cases, the overall positivity has jumped to 1.381 million, while 17 more patients have succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 29,122, the official stats showed.

'More restrictions'

Medics have told Geo News that the continuous trend of rising cases due to the Omicron variant has moved up the numbers of patients on critical care.

Meanwhile, officials have said that Pakistan might experience its peak in the first or second week of February.

"More restrictions are expected this week to control this situation," officials said.


Cities with COVID infection rates above 10%

  • Karachi — 40.68%
  • Muzaffarabad — 29.41%
  • Peshawar — 23.89%
  • Hyderabad — 21.53%
  • Lahore — 15.83%
  • Rawalpindi — 12.50%


Overall situation in districts

As the fifth wave of the coronavirus surges through the country, due to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, major cities in Pakistan have seen an uptick in test positive ratio, which is the percentage of tests that came back positive for COVID-19 out of the total conducted.

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised governments that before reopening, rates of positivity should remain at 5% or below for at least 14 days. The Pakistan government has also directed curbs in cities which report positivity rates over 10%.

District

COVID-19 lab tests in 24 hours

Positive cases in 24 hours

Positivity percentage

Mirpur

101

11

10.89%

Muzaffarabad

102

30

29.41%

Quetta

320

23

7.19%

Diamer

76

6

7.89%

Gilgit

114

11

9.65%

Skardu

123

1

0.81%

Islamabad

8,234

1,836

22.30%

Abbottabad

483

12

2.48%

Bannu

81

0

0%

Mardan

426

28

6.57%

Nowshera

146

10

6.85%

Peshawar

879

210

23.89%

Swabi

376

10

2.66%

Swat

606

12

1.98%

Bahawalpur

215

14

6.51%

Faisalabad

1,310

61

4.66%

Gujranwala

1,210

30

2.48%

Gujrat

542

10

1.85%

Jhelum

620

15

2.42%

Lahore

7,422

1,175

15.83%

Multan

677

37

5.47%

Rawalpindi

1,600

200

12.50%

Sargodha

266

26

9.77%

Hyderabad

929

200

21.53%

Karachi

4,779

1,944

40.68%

New SOPs for Islamabad schools

In light of the new cases, the education ministry and Islamabad administration had a day earlier jointly devised a new strategy to halt the disruption of education in schools.

According to the Islamabad deputy commissioner (DC), if any student tests positive in a given class, instead of closing down the school, only the respective class will be dismissed, and students will be sent home to quarantine.

The decision has been taken to prevent the disruption of education, DC Islamabad said.