ISLAMABAD: The fifth wave of the COVID-19 is getting hold with every passing as Pakistan reported 1,649 new cases of infection during the past 24 hours. According to the latest statistics shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), a total of 45,002 samples were tested during this period, out of which 1,649 turned out to be positive, showing a national positivity rate of 3.66 per cent as compared to yesterday’s 3.16%. The total death number from the pandemic has climbed to 28,972 after three more patients succumbed to the viral disease in the past 24 hours. The number of COVID-19 patients in critical care in various hospitals across the country has come down to 617. Meanwhile, in an alarming trend, the COVID positivity ratio in Karachi has gone beyond 15 per cent with the ratio of Omicron cases reaching 87 per cent of the total cases reported from Karachi. A total of 5,168 tests were performed in the last 24 hours in the metropolis, resulting in 780 cases, bringing the positivity ratio beyond 15 per cent.