Covid-19 positivity ratio falls, 650 cases reported

Swabi shows highest positivity ratio at 42.8pc, followed by Karachi at 21.3pc

Pakistan on Sunday logged 650 Covid-19 cases, lower than 818 infections recorded the previous day, official data showed.

The countrywide positivity ratio, at 3.88 per cent, was also down from 4.47 per cent a day prior. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 16,755 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. Sharing the citywide breakdown, NIH data showed Swabi has the highest Covid-19 positivity ratio at 42.8 per cent, followed by Karachi’s 21.3 per cent. It is noteworthy that the number of tests carried out in Swabi was only seven, of which three came back positive. On the other hand, there were 2,030 tests carried out in Karachi, of which 430 turned up positive.

Other cities’ test positivity ratios remained in the single digit, with 7 per cent in Muzaffarabad, 3.7 per cent in Abbottabad, 3 per cent in Peshawar, 2.8 per cent in Quetta, 2.5 per cent in Islamabad, 2.3 per cent in Nowshera and 2.17 per cent in Lahore. Earlier in a statement, Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel had said that the government was taking several measures to control the surge in cases.  The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had been holding meetings on a daily basis to overview the virus situation in the country, he had said. “But we want the public to adopt precautionary measures and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) religiously.”

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services had earlier told a news media outlet that the pandemic had bounced back in the country. “Cases double every five days, the number of patients being hospitalised is increasing and deaths are also being reported. It is worrisome that detection beyond Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore still has no signs of improvement despite repeated push,” he said.