ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday witnessed a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, as the number of daily infections surged to 818 — the highest since March 4, according to the statistics shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH) today morning.
The country last recorded 796 cases of the virus on March 4.
The 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% — up from 3.93% yesterday.
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.
The NIH stats also showed that Karachi, which conducted 3,000 tests in the last 24 hours, recorded a positivity ratio of 17.06%, Lahore 5.58%, and Islamabad 4.05%.
Sindh's coronavirus taskforce met a day earlier 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.