Pakistan records highest number of Covid cases in five months

ISLAMABAD: Continuing with the alarming rise, Pakistan reported 4,340 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which was the highest single-day spike in almost five months, National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Monday.

The country’s apex Covid-19 body stated that in the last 24 hours, 4,340 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Pakistan, bringing the total number of active cases to 35,884 and the death toll to 29,019 after seven succumbed to the virus during the last 24 hours.

49,809 tests were conducted with an 8.71 per cent positivity ratio while the total number of cases reached 1.328 million, with 1.26 million recoveries.

Statistics 17 Jan 22:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 49,809
Positive Cases: 4340
Positivity %: 8.71%
Deaths :7
Patients on Critical Care: 781

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— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) January 17, 2022

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On the other hand, the positivity ratio in Lahore has exceeded 13%.

According to the health department, omicron cases are increasing rapidly across Punjab.

The data released by the Punjab Health Department stated that 49 people in Punjab have been diagnosed with Omicron in 24 hours.

Earlier, the NCOC has advised for taking stringent measures to tackle the rising trend of Omicron cases and proposed non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

In a meeting held in Islamabad, the forum decided to extensively engage with provinces especially Sindh for necessary measures to tackle the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

The NCOC reviewed the existing NPIs and called on interprovincial health and education ministers session on January 17, 2022, to suggest the new set of NPIs.

Read more: Positivity ratio of coronavirus cases reaches 8.16% in Pakistan: NCOC

The NCOC asked the federating units to take strict measures against violators of existing SOPs and ensure enforcement of obligatory vaccination regime.