COVID-19 infections ratio falls to 6 percent across country

-2,458 COVID-19 cases, 67 deaths reported in Pakistan
-Nationwide cases top 400,000; death toll crosses 8,090

By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity ratio fell to 6 per cent on Tuesday, a week after reaching its highest-ever level of 7.46pc since the coronavirus outbreak began in the country earlier this year. A meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) with Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar in the chair was informed Tuesday that the highest test positivity rate was recorded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Mirpur district at 20.62pc, followed by Peshawar at 19.58pc, Hyderabad at 19.3pc, Karachi at 13.86pc, Abbottabad at 11.21pc, Quetta at 10.76pc and Multan at 10.66.
The NCOC was briefed that Pakistan’s positivity ratio has fallen to 6pc during the previous 24 hours. Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest positivity ratio at 14.05pc, followed by 10.01pc witnessed in Sindh, 9.04pc in Balochistan, 5.03pc in Islamabad, 3.8pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.6pc in Gilgit Baltistan. There are a total of 2,165 critically ill Covid-19 patients across the country but the number of such patients is increasing sharply, the forum was informed.
67 more Covid-19 deaths and 2,458 new infections were reported during the last 24 hours. The death toll in the country has soared to 8,091 while 343,286 patients stand recovered from the pandemic. There are now 400, 482 confirmed cases in the country out of which 2,165 are in critical condition. The coronavirus claimed 45 more lives in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial death toll from the disease to 3,036.
According to a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Health Department, 543 fresh infections emerged during this period, pushing the total number of cases thus far reported across the province to 119,578.
A total of 19,956,67 tests have been conducted in the province since the infection emerged in the country 9 months ago.
The number of people recovering from the infection stands at 98,601. Mulling the federal govt’s response to the second wave of Corona the Cabinet has approved allocating a sum worth $150m for the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, during a meeting chaired by PM Imran Khan.