COVID-19 in Pakistan becomes deadlier as positivity ratio jumps over 9 pc

Islamabad

The News International reported that on Thursday country has reported that 5,661 new COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours with 9.06 per cent positivity rate.

At least 62,462 tests were taken during the same period, as per the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The data showed a rapid increase in the number of daily cases and deaths and active cases as the fourth wave of the virus continues to spread in Pakistan.

The News International further reported that 60 more people died from the COVID-19 during the same period, pushing the national death tally to 23,635. The number of active cases is 77,409.

However, the number of recovered patients stands at 952,616 and the total cases of the country are 1,053,660, NCOC's stats showed.

According to a province-wise breakdown, the total number of cases in Sindh has reached 392,433, 146,485 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 360,494 in Punjab, 89,117 in Islamabad, 30,880 in Balochistan, 25,778 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 8,473 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Apart from the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan is also under threat of a potential outbreak of various gastrointestinal diseases as the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has notified the public about the abundance of flies in the country.

In an official notification issued on Wednesday, the PMA stated that flies can be a source of spreading diseases, particularly gastrointestinal ones, reported Geo TV.

The situation has become grim in the urban areas across the country.

The condition is especially worrisome in Karachi owing to sewerage water and garbage collected on the roads, as well as the offal of sacrificial animals left on the streets after Eid-ul-Azha -- all of which are becoming breeding grounds for the flies, as per notification reported by Geo TV.