Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab isolates himself after COVID-19 symptoms

• Wahab says he has developed "certain" COVID symptoms.
• Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani also tests positive for virus.
• Country records highest COVID-19 positivity ratio of 5.46% on Tuesday after 5 months.

KARACHI: Sindh Government Spokesperson and Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab has isolated himself after experiencing certain symptoms of COVID-19.

Taking to Twitter Tuesday morning, Wahab announced: "I have developed certain symptoms of Covid since yesterday. Have decided to isolate myself & get tested."

Wahab had previously tested positive for COVID back in June 2020. A day prior, Sindh Minister for Labour and Human Resources Saeed Ghani had also tested positive for COVID for the second time.

"I have not been feeling well for the past few days. Four days ago, I underwent a test and found out that I have contracted coronavirus for the second time. I have isolated myself according to the doctor's instructions. In addition to the minor symptoms, I feel better," he wrote on Twitter.

The news comes as the country witnessed a new surge of the virus following a few months of hiatus. According to data released by the National Institute of Health (NIH), on Tuesday, the country recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity ratio of 5.46% during a single day after a gap of five months.

The last time the country recorded such a high positivity ratio — 5.55% — was on February 17. The number of deaths stood at 40 at the time.

According to the NIH data, during the last 24 hours, 4,674 diagnostic tests were conducted across the country out of which 255 came back positive.

The condition of 141 COVID-19 patients, according to the NIH, is critical and they are being treated in intensive care units (ICU) at different medical facilities.

Per the NIH data, only one COVID-related death was reported in the country during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30,424.