ISLAMABAD: Pakistan witnessed a significant increase in coronavirus cases on Friday, as the situation worsen amid the surging Omicron variant of the disease.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 1,293 cases and six deaths in the previous 24-hour period. The national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 1,301,141 while the death toll stands at 28,961.
The positivity ratio was recorded at 2.52%, while the number of active has increased to 14,094 amid the rising number of cases. There were 51,145 tests conducted in the previous day leading to new cases. There are 609 people who still remain in critical condition. Overall 1,258,086 people have recovered from the virus, including 239 in the past day.
Sindh remains the worst affected region. The province has recorded 484,985 cases and 8,840 deaths while there are 8,840 active cases. Punjab has recorded 446,676 cases and 13,077 deaths, while the number of active cases in the province remains 4,008. Islamabad has recorded 109,093 cases and 967 deaths while there are 568 active cases in the federal capital.
The number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 181,614 and 5,941 deaths, while Balochistan has recorded 33,655 cases and 366 deaths. Gilgit Baltistan had recorded 10,429 cases and 186 deaths while Azad Kashmir has recorded 34,689 cases and 746 deaths.
Omicron rapidly increasing in Sindh
Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said that COVID-19 could not be eradicated we should have to live with this virus by adopting preventive measures.
Dr Azra said that the cases of Omicron were increasing rapidly in the province and positivity ratio of COVID-19 had been doubled during the last several days. She said 500 cases of COVID-19 are being reported daily across the province while 170 cases of Omicron variant have been recorded only in Karachi.
The health minister said that genomics of all cases could not be possible as only genomics are being conducted of those coronavirus affected people who had a foreign travel history.
In reply to another question, Dr Azra Pechuho said no decision for imposing lockdown had been taken by the government, adding that if cases were increasing and capacity of hospitals was reduced, then the government would consider imposing lockdown.
She said that vaccination in schools and colleges was underway at present and there was a dire need to fully implement standard operating procedures including wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing so that this pandemic could be controlled.
