The true picture of Pakistan’s Covid-19 infections can be understood through simple calculations. One likely factor behind the fewer positive cases is that fewer people are being tested.

The focus of the authorities should not be on the number of people testing positive, but rather on the number of tests being done and the percentage of total tests versus total positive cases in a single day. This percentage mid-June was between 18pc and 22pc, which meant that 18 to 22 out of every 100 people tested were Covid-19 positive. In the last five days, that percentage has been recorded at between 16pc to 20pc — a 2pc reduction which can hardly be claimed as a victory when testing was reduced by a third.

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