KARACHI/LAHORE: The COVID-19 positivity ratio in the port city has reached 23 percent due to the presence of the Delta variant, says data released by Karachi University's International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS).
Out of 90 samples tested at the ICCBS labs on July 14, the Delta variant was detected in 83 of them. Health experts say that if the cases continue to increase, the death toll in the country is also likely to get higher.Health authorities say that owing to the Delta variant, the number of coronavirus cases in Karachi is rapidly increasing, so much so that hospitals are on the verge of reaching capacity. Several hospitals in Karachi, including the Civil Hospital, had to postpone scheduled operations due to the growing number of coronavirus patients being admitted there, the report said, adding that at present, the COVID-19 positivity ratio in Karachi has reached 23 percent.
Last week, the ICCBS had revealed that out of 2,062 samples tested at the institution's lab, 163 turned out to be COVID-19 positive, out of which 65 carried the Delta variant.
Considering the highly contagious nature of the variant, the Sindh Health Department has advised everyone to restrict their movements unless absolutely necessary. The provincial government has also urged the masses to strictly adhere to the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) in order to contain the spread of the virus.
Pakistan on Sunday morning reported 2,607 cases of coronavirus in a single day, as per statistics issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
The country's nerve centre in the fight against COVID-19 said that close to 48,816 people were tested for the infection on Saturday out of which 2,603 turned out to be positive.
Pakistan's positivity ratio has climbed to 5.34 percent.
The country also reported 21 deaths from the infection over the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan since the pandemic began has risen to 989,275, while the number of active cases in the country has increased to 47,331.
As far as the recoveries are concerned, 919,163 people have recovered from the infection in total, while 22,781 have succumbed to the virus.
Authorities in Gujranwala summoned the Pakistan Army to help them implement SOPs to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
District Commissioner Gujranwala Sohail Khawaja said the army has been called to help the district administration. He added that the army personnel will be included in the joint teams of police and the district administration.
On the other hand, certain areas of Gujranwala are under a smart lockdown and teams have been deployed to monitor the exit and entry points of the area.
Meanwhile, the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus has been detected in 56 more people over the last three days in the provincial capital of Punjab, Geo News reported Sunday, citing the health department.
Per the report, out of 85 COVID-19 positive samples tested at a laboratory, 65 turned out to be carrying the highly contagious Delta variant.
A spokesman for the provincial health department said that the spread of the Delta variant is 50% faster as compared to other variants, adding that the situation could only be controlled if more and more people get themselves vaccinated.
It may be recalled that a day ago, the Delta variant was confirmed in 24 more citizens in the province.
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