ISLAMABAD: As many as 556 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 1,295,933. According to the data shared by the National Command and Operation Centre, a total of 51,141 samples were tested during this period, out of which 556 turned out to be positive, showing a national positivity rate of 1.08 per cent. The death toll from the pandemic climbed to 28,933 after six more patients succumbed to the viral disease in the previous 24 hours. The number of Covid-19 patients in critical care in various hospitals across the country stands at 629. Cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are on the rise in the country as Islamabad and Karachi reported 34 and 11 new cases of this strain, respectively, yesterday. In the port city, eleven members of a single family were found to be infected with the new variant. The affected people, residents of the city’s District East, include eight women and three men whose ages range from 26 to 77. Whereas, the number of Omicron cases in the federal capital rose to 66 after 34 new cases were reported.