ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded 2,839 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the national tally of cases now currently stands at 398,024 and is set to pass the grim 400,000 landmark. The positivity rate has reached 8.5 percent in a day.
In the past 24 hours, 40 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 8,025. Over 2,046 patients are in critical condition in hospitals across the country while 1,613 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours.
A total of 33,302 tests were conducted across the country during this period. 341,423 people have recovered from the deadly disease while 5,508,810 samples have been tested thus far.
The NCOC has raised alarm over the rising number of coronavirus cases and an increase in positivity ratio. A meeting of the NCOC was held with Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar in the chair to review the situation of coronavirus cases and implementation on the SOPs across the country.
The forum was informed that the highest test positivity rate was recorded at 24.85 per cent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), followed by Hyderabad at 22.18%, and Karachi at 18.96 %.
The NCOC was informed that there are a total of 2,186 critically ill COVID-19 patients across the country but the number of such patients is increasing sharply.
Asad Umar earlier had said protecting the masses from the pandemic is the government’s foremost priority. He added that all-out efforts are being made to contain the spread of the virus with round-the-clock monitoring of the situation.
He had stressed on the need for people to play an individual and collective role to stem the spread of the virus and lauded the enforcement of SOPs at mosques across the country.
