Covid-19 out of control in Karachi

The Covid-19 situation in Karachi is spinning out of control amid the fifth wave of the pandemic as the positivity rate in Pakistan's financial hub reached 20.22 per cent Wednesday morning, The News reported.

As per the latest statistics, 6,048 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the city and out of which 1,223 returned positive. In 95 per cent of the positive cases, Omicron is being confirmed, said the report.

Meanwhile, Lahore's Covid-19 positivity rate has surged to 7 per cent, Islamabad's 4.5 per cent and Rawalpindi's 4 per cent.

According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), Pakistan has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections -- 2,074 -- in the last 24 hours since September 24, 2021, more than three months ago.

Following the detection of new cases, the positivity ratio has reached 4.70 per cent and overall infections have jumped past 1.309 million, while the recovery ratio stands at 96.2 per cent as 1.26 million people have recovered from the virus, data from the NCOC showed today morning.

Pakistan also registered 13 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest since December 15, 2021, pushing the death toll to 28,987, official figures showed.