COVID-19 positivity ratio reaches five-month high

Pakistan has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity ratio of 5.46% during a single day after a gap of five months, the National Institute of Health (NIH) data showed Tuesday morning.

The last time the country recorded such a high positivity ratio — 5.55% — was on February 17. The number of deaths stood at 40 at the time.

According to the NIH data, during the last 24 hours, 4,674 diagnostic tests were conducted across the country out of which 255 came back positive.

The condition of 141 COVID-19 patients, according to the NIH, is critical and they are being treated in intensive care units (ICU) at different medical facilities.

Per the NIH data, only one COVID-related death was reported in the country during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30,424.

Experts blame two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, for the rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, saying that they have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.

They say the sub-variants have also been infecting people who are already vaccinated or have already been infected with COVD-19, but no evidence is available to show if they are causing any severe disease among the vaccinated people.