ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported two deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,544,131. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,426 on Thursday.
According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 390 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across the country in the past 24 hours.
Pakistan has conducted 17,397 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 390 persons were tested positive for the disease. The COVID Positivity Ratio was recorded at 2.24 percent.
Read more: What is COVID BA.5 variant and why is it reinfecting so many people?
BA.5, part of the Omicron family, is the latest coronavirus variant to cause widespread waves of infection globally.
According to the World Health Organization’s most recent report, it was behind 52% of cases sequenced in late June, up from 37% in one week. In the United States, it is estimated to be causing around 65% of infections.
BA.5 is not new. First identified in January, it has been tracked by the WHO since April.
It is a sister variant of the Omicron strain that has been dominant worldwide since the end of 2021 and has already caused spikes in case rates – even with reduced testing – in countries including South Africa, where it was first found, as well as the United Kingdom, parts of Europe, and Australia.
Coronavirus cases worldwide have now been rising for four weeks in a row, WHO data showed.
