ISLAMABAD: The intensity of the third wave of the coronavirus seems declining as Covid-19 positivity rate in the country has come down to 3.10 per cent compared to over 4 percent last week.

The data released by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday, showed that Pakistan carried out 52,427 tests in the last 24 hours, of which 1,629 returned positive.

The NCOC said that the positivity rate stands at 3.10% and the new cases have taken the nationwide tally of positive cases to 932,140.

The country also reported 76 deaths from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the countrywide death toll to 21,265.

As the coronavirus cases have started declining, the NCOC greenlighted the reopening of all educational institutes in districts with low coronavirus positivity ratio from today (Monday).

The NCOC, in the statement, did not specify what it considers a low positivity ratio, but last month, it had said educational institutes in districts where the ratio was less than 5% could reopen.

It also announced that a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane had landed in the country with a million coronavirus vaccine doses.

The body, which leads Pakistan's fight against Covid-19, said that the government is expanding its mass vaccination drive with a timely supply of vaccines.

"In June, Pakistan will receive a total of 11 million doses of Sinopharm, CanSino, and Sinovac vaccines,” it added.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said that drop in Covid-19 cases to the lowest level since start of pandemic’s third wave is heartening as it shows Pakistan is moving forward in its fight against contagion.

“Due to effective policies and timely interventions, the Covid-19 positivity ratio in Pakistan has dropped to 3.1 per cent lowest since current wave of the pandemic started,” he tweeted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021