With over 800 fresh cases, Pakistan sees 4.5-month high highest COVID-19 positivity rate

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 6 (ANI): With the surge in the COVID-19 positivity rate, Pakistan has reported 818 COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the National Institute of Health.
At present, the country reported a positivity rate of 4.47 per cent.
"COVID-19 Statistics 06 July 2022 Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 17,150 Positive Cases: 805 Positivity %: 4.69% Deaths: 01 Patients on Critical Care: 168," the National Institute of Health tweeted.
Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio is higher than that and stands at 4.69 per cent, which is the highest in the last four-and-a-half months. The last highest was on February 18 when the country recorded a positivity rate of 4.92 per cent, Geo tv reported.
Amid fears of a new wave of coronavirus, experts advocated mask-wearing indoors in cities reporting cases that constitute over 5 per cent positivity, reported Geo News.
They also stressed vigilant watch through good surveillance and testing, vaccination with emphasis on boosters and communication about rising risk, especially in urban settings.
Pakistan is currently witnessing a new surge in the COVID-19 cases and amid this, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also tweaked its mask mandates where now the masks are mandatory again for domestic flights with immediate effect.
According to a notification from CAA, all concerned quarters must ensure compliance with the new order. The notification added that the other Covid-19 guidelines on domestic air travel remained unchanged.
While speaking with Dawn, University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Akram had said the virus was behaving like a "roller coaster". "The country will face similar situations for a few years," Dr Akram said.
Akram said that the restrictions must be put back in place to contain the virus. He added that these measures will also help to fight the ongoing energy crisis. He said that people should go for vaccination and those who were already immunized should get booster shots. (ANI)