Pakistan records highest COVID-19 infections since August 25

• Pakistan reports 4,286 cases in last 24 hours.
• The positivity ratio shoots up to 8.16%.
• Karachi's infection rate surges past 35%.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported the highest number of cases — 4,286 — since August 25, 2021, in the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation's Centre (NCOC) data showed Saturday morning, as compared to 3,567 a day earlier.

The positivity ratio also shot up to 8.16%, the highest since August 11, when 52,522 tests were conducted across the country, according to the NCOC data.

The overall cases have reached 1.32 million after the detection of new infections, while the death toll now stands at 29,003 as four deaths were reported from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

City-wise positivity breakdown:

• Karachi: 35.30%
• Muzaffarabad: 11.90%
• Rawalpindi: 9.94%
• Lahore 8.5%
• Islamabad: 6.95%

'Karachi expected to report 50% positivity ratio'

Meanwhile, federal health officials told Geo News that they expected the situation in Karachi to change in the coming week as the positivity ratio might hit 50%, leading to an increase in hospitalisations.

The officials also said that cases were expected to shoot up to 6,000.

Sindh calls meeting amid increasing cases

Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah has called a meeting of the provincial government today to discuss the COVID-19 situation in Karachi, Geo News reported.

According to sources, members of the COVID-19 task force, the Sindh Health Department, and coronavirus specialists will attend the meeting to talk about the ongoing situation in the city.

Separately, speaking to journalists in Karachi, CM Shah had also said the decision to impose a lockdown and close educational institutions will be taken in line with the NCOC's recommendations.

CM Shah had said that the coronavirus cases were spreading at a rapid pace, but the situation was under control as hospitalisations and patients in intensive care units (ICU) in the port city were less.

Booster dose

The NCOC had also announced all citizens above 18 years can get the coronavirus vaccine's booster jab, as the Omicron variant pushes infections across the country.

The free booster dose will be administered to people after a six-month gap from when their vaccination was completed.