Spike after four months 800 new infections in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus cases witnessed a sharp increase in the country after more than 800 infections were registered in the last 24 hours, up from 694 a day earlier, official statistics showed Saturday morning. 

This was the first time in nearly four months that the infections moved past 800, as the country had recorded 796 cases on March 4, but there was a gradual decline since then. Infections then started to rise since 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%, 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%