In a worrying development, the national positivity ratio of Pakistan shot past 7% on Tuesday as over 2,500 people tested positive across country.
According to data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 35,303 tests were conducted in the country out of which 2,511 returned positive, taking the positivity ratio to 7.1%. The new positive cases take the national total of coronavirus positive cases to 609,964. The NCOC said out that 11,089 have been reported in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 19,233 in Balochistan, 4,961 in Gilgit Baltistan, 48,495 in Islamabad, 76,379 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 188,225 in Punjab, and 261,582 in Sindh. Total active coronavirus cases in Pakistan stands at 23,355.
On the other hand, the country also lost 58 people to the deadly virus on Tuesday, with the most deaths occurring in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The new deaths take the national tally of coronavirus fatalities to 13,595. The breakdown showed that 4,461 patients died in Sindh, 5,812 in Punjab, 2,169 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 526 in Islamabad, 202 in Balochistan, 103 in Gilgit Baltistan and 322 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Continuing with the alarming rise, the federal capital Tuesday reported 414 new Covid-19 cases, which is the highest single-day spike in the last 98 days. According to the NCOC, as many as 371 cases were reported on Monday while 345 cases were reported on Sunday in the federal capital. It said so far 48,495 cases have been reported from the federal capital along with 526 deaths. At least 44,409 patients have recovered completely.
The Ministry of National Health Services said that local-level administrative decisions are being made in the federal capital to control the disease. It advised the citizens to continue following the social distancing, use of mask and other precautionary measures to stop increasing local transmission of Covid-19.
The district administration of Islamabad has increased surveillance of different streets of the capital to reduce transmission of the infection. It has also started taking action on violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to the coronavirus while visiting marriage halls, markets, and petrol pumps by its inspection teams. The administration has been asked to seal schools, shops, workshops, and restaurants on violation of SOPs.