Pakistan’s daily COVID-19 positivity rate drops below 3 pct for first time in 2021

ISLAMABAD: Supported by strict measures and vaccination drive, Pakistan on Monday reported a COVID-19 positivity rate below 3 percent for the first time in 2021, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Tuesday.
According to the data from the NCOC, Pakistan’s department leading its campaign against the pandemic, the country conducted 46,882 tests on Monday across the country bringing out 1,383 new cases with a positivity rate of 2.95 percent.

Earlier in March and April this year, the country witnessed a positivity ratio of over 11 percent for several times, leading the government to impose strict measures, including the closure of educational institutes, markets, public parks, wedding halls, restaurants, public transport and all other large gatherings.

With the start of May 2021, the positivity rate dropped to below 10 percent and it went down to below 5 percent on May 22 and finally fell to below 3 percent on Monday, according to the data from the NCOC.

Pakistan’s overall number of cases rose to 935,013, including 867,447 recoveries since February last year when the country reported its first COVID-19 case.

There is a total of 46,190 active cases across the country, including 3,196 those who are in critical condition.

According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 53 people during the last 24 hours, increasing the overall death toll to 21,376.

Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is leading in both the number of infections and deaths where 342,805 people were tested positive and 10,349 lost their lives, followed by the southern Sindh province with 324,535 infected people and 5,144 deaths.