COVID cases in Pakistan see minor drop after sharp hike

The fresh COVID-19 case count in Pakistan slumped down to 650 a day after a sharp hike in infections across the country, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) data showed Sunday morning.

Pakistan has been witnessing a constant rise in coronavirus cases since mid-June.

On Sunday, Pakistan reported a 3.88% COVID-19 positivity rate with 650 new infections that were detected after countrywide diagnostic testing on 16,755 samples during the last 24 hours.

The fresh cases pushed the country's total number of COVID-19 cases reported since the start of the pandemic to 1,537,947.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients being treated in critical care units climbed to 138, while two more patients suffering from the virus died overnight.

The NIH stats also showed that Karachi's COVID-19 positivity rate again crossed 21% as it reported 430 new cases in a single day.

Sindh can take 'tough measures' if COVID-19 spreads

Sindh's coronavirus taskforce met on Friday (July 1) to discuss the situation, with the province's chief minister, Murad Ali Shah, warning of taking "tough measures" if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen in the province, especially in the port city.

CM Shah said if coronavirus cases increase, the government may have to take drastic measures again. It was, however, noted that the hospital admission rate was still low.

“Karachi has the highest number of weekly cases,” the CM said.