Pakistan reports 2 deaths, 644 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 7 (ANI): Pakistan has reported two more deaths and 644 fresh Covid-19 cases during the past 24 hours, the country's National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Sunday.
At least 22,126 tests COVID-19 diagnostic tests were conducted during 24 hours, of which 644 samples came out positive, ARY News reported.
"COVID-19 Statistics 07 August 2022 Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 22,126 Positive Cases: 644 Positivity pc: 2.91 pc Deaths: 00 Patients on Critical Care: 170," the NIH tweeted.
According to the data issued by NIH, 170 COVID-19 patients were being treated in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the country at different medical facilities.
The novel coronavirus has affected 19,942 medics in Pakistan so far, said sources.
According to sources within the National Institute of Health (NIH), as many as 175 health workers have died across the country during the pandemic.
The sources said that so far 12,358 doctors, 2,687 nurses, and 4,897 other health staffers have been infected by COVID-19 in the country. They said 19,763 have so far recovered from the infection in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the NIH has advised adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs), including mask wearing and social distancing during Muharram gatherings.
Notably, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said he was worried that coronavirus case numbers were shooting up, putting more strain on health systems and workers.
Experts said that the two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, are responsible for the spread of COVID-19. They said that these variants have escaped mutations that are giving them an edge.
According to the World Health Organization's most recent report, it was behind 52 per cent of cases sequenced in late June, up from 37 per cent in one week. In the United States, it is estimated to be causing around 65 per cent of infections.
Experts also said that the sub-variants have also been infecting people who are already vaccinated or have already been infected with COVD-19, but no evidence is available to show if they are causing any severe disease among the vaccinated people, Geo News reported.
According to the website, BA.5, which is an omicron variant, is particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection.
For this reason, "BA5 has a growth advantage over the other sublineages of Omicron that are circulating," Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said as quoted by Geo News. (ANI)