ISLAMABAD: Pakistan registered 2,545 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the highest single-day toll since May 30, the Ministry of National Health Services said as the Delta variant is spreading across the country.
The government portal keeping track of the outbreak had recorded 2,697 cases on May 29 which slowly declined to 663 on June 21. However, the disease has again spiked since July 6.
Following the new cases, the portal showed the total caseload at 981,392. The recoveries stood at 916,373.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 47 more deaths were recorded, raising the death toll to 22,689.
48,910 tests were conducted on Wednesday, of which 2,545 came back positive, the NCOC said.
The transmission rate has also increased to 5.2 percent from 4.17 percent a day earlier. The last time the positivity rate had crossed 5 percent was on May 23, when it was recorded as 5.22 percent.
The health authorities have already warned that Pakistan could move to the fourth wave if the public avoids following safety precautions.
“Rapid build-up starting to take place in covid patients hospital inflow, as well as patients in critical care. This Indian variant has caused devastation in countries in the region,” Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, tweeted.
Rapid build up starting to take place in covid patients hospital inflow, as well as patients in critical care. This indian variant has caused devastation in countries in the region. Please follow sop’s and get vaccinated as soon as possible. Do not risk your own & others lives.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) July 15, 2021
“Please follow sop’s (standard operating procedures) and get vaccinated as soon as possible. Do not risk your own & others lives.”
Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan, in a tweet providing a breakdown of the data, said “Covid-19 numbers continue to rise” in the country.
“Use masks (even if you are vaccinated) [and] avoid crowds,” he advised, urging people to get themselves vaccinated.
Covid numbers continue to rise
New cases last 24h = 2545
National positivity = 5.2%
City-wise % positivity – Karachi 19%, Peshawar 9.4%, Islamabad 6.2%, Lahore 3.8%Use masks (even if you are vaccinated)
Avoid crowds
Vaccinate – over 580,000 doses administered yesterday!— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) July 15, 2021
Concerns of a fourth wave of coronavirus have grown amid the emergence of the Delta variant, a strain of the virus first identified in India.
The mutation has been found in more than 80 countries since it was first detected. Experts say it spreads more easily because of mutations that make it better at latching onto cells in our bodies.
Viruses constantly mutate and most changes are not concerning. But there is a worry that some variants might evolve enough to be more contagious, cause more severe illness or evade the protection that vaccines provide.
In the United Kingdom, the variant is now responsible for 90 percent of all new infections. In the US, it represents 20 percent of infections, and health officials say it could become the country’s dominant type as well.
To control the spread of the variant, authorities have banned the entry of the unvaccinated to tourist spots, hotels, movie theaters, and picnic areas during next week’s Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice.
The government has also expedited the inoculation drive in the past weeks, and people aged 18 or over is eligible for vaccination. Over 21 million vaccine doses have been administered in the country to date.
It had initially focused on giving shots to older populations and other high-risk groups. However, with the spread of the Delta variant, it is trying to reignite the campaigns by overcoming scepticism about the vaccine and misconceptions that the young do not need a shot.
With additional input from Anadolu Agency
