Pakistan logs over 1,000 COVID-19 cases for fifth straight day

• Pakistan records 1,649 COVID-19 cases in last 24 hours, NCOC data shows.
• Three more die from coronavirus.
  
• Positivity rate stands at 3.66%

Pakistan registered more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases for the fifth straight day, as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 continues to push infection rates across the country.

The National Command and Operations Centre's (NCOC) COVID-19 statistics from Monday morning showed that Pakistan registered 1,649 cases in the last 24 hours, a day after the case daily caseload was reported at 1,572 — the first time since October 3 that daily cases were above 1,500.

The country's positivity rate stands at 3.66%.

The patients on critical care have moved up from 604 on Sunday to 617 in the last 24 hours, as the deaths came down from seven to three, according to NCOC's data.

A total of 162.1 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered, with over 73 million people fully vaccinated and more than 99 million people partially vaccinated.

After Omciron was detected in Pakistan, Pakistan also lowered the age limit for the administration of COVID-19 booster jabs from January 1 -  individuals aged 30 years and above are eligible for it.

Alarming rise in Islamabad

The positivity rate of coronavirus in Islamabad and Rawalpindi has started registering a tremendous increase as in the last 24 hours, it was recorded at around 2.5%, The News reported.

The positivity rate of COVID-19 in Islamabad was recorded as 2.96% and 1.98% in Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours that had dropped down to below 0.5% in the last two weeks of December.

It is important that as many as 152 new patients tested positive for COVID-19 from the twin cities in the last 24 hours — the highest number of cases reported in a day from ICT and Rawalpindi district after September 30 last year.

Karachi's positivity ratio crosses 15%

Karachi saw an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases on Sunday, 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% of the 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.