Pakistan reports lowest Covid positivity rate since Feb 28

(Karachi) While coronavirus continues to infect people across the country, Pakistan has reported the lowest positivity rate at 3.58 percent in three months, the latest data provided by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) stated on Friday.

At least 83 deaths and 1,893 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours across the country, which brings the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic to 928,588.

With 83 deaths recorded today, the death toll rose to 21,105 while the total number of critically ill patients is 3,557.

Meanwhile, 52,859 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours. At least 3,431 people recovered from the deadly disease while 90,729 people have been fully vaccinated during the said period.

Punjab recorded the maximum of 341,390 cases, followed by 321,425 in Sindh, 133,746 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 81,540 in Islamabad, and 25,476 in Balochistan. Azad and Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan reported 19,388 and 5,623 Covid cases respectively.

The NCOC data shows that on February 28, Pakistan reported a positivity rate of 3.02 percent. However, at the end of March, the Covid positivity rate rose to above 10 percent. In April, it gradually declined and reached eight percent. Then again the positivity rate started declining and in May it was reported lower than seven percent. In the first three days of June (current month), the positivity rate remained below four percent.

There has been a sharp rise in Covid vaccine demand as more and more people are getting registered for the vaccination.

As part of efforts to keep people safe from getting infected with coronavirus, the NCOC decided to initiate a vaccination campaign on a massive scale under the "whole of the nation approach" in collaboration with various public and private partners.

The NCOC had set a target to vaccinate 70 million people by the end of this year. Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the acceleration of the vaccination drive in the country was made possible by the huge investment by the federal government.

He added that the government will spend much more next year on the procurement of vaccines.

Earlier, the NCOC issued new guidelines to curb the spread of the virus. The forum decided to implement broader lockdowns and restrict the movement of people. It banned all indoor and outdoor activities, including social, cultural, political, sports, and other miscellaneous events.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also warned that a complete lockdown will be imposed in the country if the coronavirus situation does not improve. He, however, said that imposing a lockdown is not in the country's interest and will badly affect the common man and economy.

He said that despite the drastic rise in coronavirus cases, the government is not implementing a complete lockdown across the country. He urged people to follow coronavirus SOPs to avoid imposing full restrictions.