Karachi (National Times)-The COVID-19 positivity ratio has exceeded 21% in Karachi as the spread of the infection sees a swift rise across the city and the rest of the country, data by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) showed Thursday morning.

A total of 138 new infections were detected in the metropolis when 650 samples were tested, taking the city’s positivity rate to 21.23%.

The second most affected city is Abbotabad, where the positivity rate is 8.7%.

Meanwhile, the countrywide COVID-19 positivity rate crossed the 2% mark for the first time in three months amid a steady rise in fresh cases of coronavirus all over the country.

The last time Pakistan’s positivity ratio was 2% was on March 5, 2022.

As per the latest stats, as many as 268 new cases of COVID-19 were reported from the country during the last 24 hours, taking the positivity rate to 2.14%. The fresh infections were detected during the diagnostic testing on 12,513 samples.

Meanwhile, 75 people infected with COVID-19 are in critical care units while one person succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours.

‘Too high’: Dr Zafar Mirza
Former special assistant to the prime minister on health Dr Zafar Mirza said that the countrywide spread of COVID-19 is not alarming, but in Karachi, the cases “too high”. He, however, said that Karachi’s COVID-19 situation is still not bad enough to panic. Instead, special surveillance is needed in the city, he opined.

Speaking further on the surge in infections, Dr Mirza said that focused action is required which includes implementation of SOPs, efficient data collection and more testing.