Pakistan: Covid cases jump past 800 after 4 months

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 2 : Pakistan witnessed a sharp surge in coronavirus cases after more than 800 fresh infections were registered in the last 24 hours.
This was the first time in nearly four months that the infections moved past 800, the official statistics stated Saturday morning.
As per the reports by Geo News, the south-Asian country had recorded 796 cases on March 4, but there was a gradual decline since then. Infections then started to rise in late June.
The National Institute of Health (NIH), in its latest data, showed that 18,305 COVID-19 diagnostic tests were conducted across Pakistan, out of which 818 came back positive, pushing the positivity ratio to 4.47 per cent, up from 3.93 per cent yesterday.
According to the NIH, the condition of 126 COVID patients, according to the NIH, is critical and they are being treated in intensive care units (ICU) at different medical facilities.
Karachi conducted 3,000 tests in the last 24 hours, recorded a positivity ratio of 17.06 per cent, Lahore 5.58 per cent, and Islamabad 4.05 per cent, NIH added.
Sindh's coronavirus task force met a day earlier to discuss the situation with the province's chief minister, Murad Ali Shah while he warned of taking "tough measures" if the Covid situation continues to worsen in the province, especially in the port city, Geo News reported.
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, adding that if the coronavirus cases rise, the government will take drastic measures again.
Amid fears of a new wave of coronavirus, experts advocated mask-wearing indoors in cities reporting cases that constitute over 5 per cent positivity. They also stressed vigilant watch through good surveillance and testing, vaccination with emphasis on boosters and communication about rising risk, especially in urban settings.
Pakistan is currently witnessing a new surge in coronavirus cases and amid this, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also tweaked its mask mandates where now the masks are mandatory again for domestic flights with immediate effect.
Pakistan reported 694 new COVID-19 cases on July 1.
The federal government decided to "fully activate" the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) earlier this week in order to curb the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
Over rising concerns of a surge in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued directives to revive Pakistan's coronavirus response forum as the premier ordered district and provincial authorities to implement strict measures and take stringent steps to keep the deadly virus at bay.