Islamabad (National Times)- The COVID-19 situation in Pakistan is getting worse once again ahead of Eid as nine people suffering from the infection died in the last 24 hours, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) data showed Thursday morning.

Pakistan’s coronavirus death toll witnessed a major hike after over three months as the country last reported nine deaths on March 8, 2022.

Moreover, the country logged 872 new cases in a single day, which took the country’s COVID-19 positivity rate to 3.77%. The new infections were detected after diagnostic tests on 23,125 samples.

Meanwhile, 165 people are being treated in critical care units.

Experts blame two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, for the rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, saying that they have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.

They say 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.