Pakistan reports 2,783 new coronavirus infections in last 24 hours

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 2,783 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, as per the statistics shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

A total of 49,247 people were tested for the infection on Friday, said the NCOC, out of whom 2,783 turned out to be positive.

This brings the positivity ratio across the country to 5.65%. A day earlier, the country reported a jump in its positivity rate for the virus, which went up to 6.17%. The last time Pakistan crossed the 6% positivity rate mark was almost two months ago in May.

Pakistan also reported 39 deaths from the infection over the last 24 hours.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan since the pandemic began has risen to 986,668, while the number of active cases in the country has increased to 45,579.

As far as the recoveries are concerned, 918,329 people have recovered from the infection in total, while 22,759 have succumbed to the virus.

Eidul Adha should be celebrated in a ‘closed, limited’ environment: Dr Faisal Sultan

Earlier this week, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had said the upcoming Eidul Adha festival will be celebrated in a “limited, closed” environment, hinting at more restrictions to curb the virus spread amid fears of a fourth wave.

The minister was speaking on Geo Pakistan about the spike in coronavirus cases and the measures being taken by the federal government.

When asked whether Eidul Adha in Pakistan will be observed in a lockdown-type situation, the minister responded by saying that the festival should be celebrated in a “limited, closed” environment.

He spoke about the new Delta variant of the coronavirus, saying that the mutations in each new variant of the virus make it very easy to “jump from one person to another”.

“This variant is spreading at a pace of 50-60%,” he said.

Delta variant making up 50% of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan

On Tuesday, Federal Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Nausheen Hamid had revealed that the Delta variant of the coronavirus — which first emerged in India — is now making up a whopping 50% of the total infections in Pakistan.

The lawmaker, speaking during Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, said the COVID-19 vaccines that Pakistan is administering are effective against the Delta variant.

Dr Hamid highlighted that no vaccine in the world is 100% effective against the Delta variant, however, if a person gets the jab, the virus will not affect their health badly.