Karachi's COVID-19 positivity ratio crosses 15% amid surge in Omicron cases

Karachi saw an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with the virus positivity ratio recorded at more than 15%, officials from the Sindh health department said.

According to the head of Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory (DDRRL), 87% patients were affected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, of which 60% were women.

As the country witnesses the rapid spread of Omicron, the Sindh government has decided to start a door-to-door vaccination campaign from next week.

The Sindh health department has provided dozens of private hospitals and laboratories COVID-19 vaccines.

Health officials have warned against complacency, saying COVID-19 is also affecting fully vaccinated people, and in some cases those who have taken a booster shot too.

However, the symptoms and their intensity are found to be lower when compared to those who are unvaccinated or have only received a single dose.

The provincial health department has urged citizens to complete their vaccinations, and get booster shots if applicable, also warning them to not pay any fee for the vaccine at any private hospital or laboratory as these are meant to be free.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan reported over 1,500 daily COVID-19 cases for the first time since October 3 today, data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed.

As per the latest statistics, 1,572 people tested positive for the coronavirus after 49,658 COVID-19 tests were taken across the county in the last 24 hours. This brings the national positivity rate to 3.16%.

A day earlier, the Sindh government had warned of resorting to "stringent measures" if people continued to defy standard operating procedures (SOPs) in Karachi.

“Positivity of COVID-19 cases is alarmingly on the rise in Karachi where it touched 11.72%. Fortunately, hospitalisations are not rising and currently only 18 patients are in the ICUs and HDUs," MPA Qasim was quoted as saying by The News.