Amid a rise in Covid-19 infections and deaths, Pakistan on Thursday reported almost 3,500 daily cases, its highest since July 2, when 4,087 cases were recorded.

According to data from the government's portal for tracking the spread of the virus in the country, 3,499 coronavirus cases were reported in Pakistan on December 2.

Breakdown of cases and deaths reported on December 2:

• Sindh: 1,983 cases, 6 deaths
• Punjab: 727 cases, 25 deaths
• Islamabad: 417 cases, 5 deaths
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 218 cases, 3 deaths
• Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 85 cases
• Balochistan: 53 cases
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 16 cases

With the new cases, the national tally has risen to 406,810. Meanwhile, 39 coronavirus deaths were also reported, taking the countrywide toll to 8,205.

Pakistan's total active cases have also crossed the 50,000 mark, days after the country's Covid-19 tally crossed the 400,000 mark.

Data showed that the number of active cases in the country was 51,654, of which 2,469 coronavirus patients were in critical condition. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said in a statement that the number of critical patients is rising at a fast pace.

Highest positivity ratio recorded in Karachi

The national Covid-19 positivity ratio on Thursday was recorded 8.16 per cent, according to data released by the NCOC.

The highest positivity ratio was observed in Karachi at 20.12pc, followed by Hyderabad with 18.43pc, and Abbottabad with 14.53pc, data showed.

Positivity ratio in provinces/federating units:

• Sindh: 14.1 pc
• Balochistan: 12.5pc
• Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 11.9pc
• Islamabad: 6.6pc
• KP: 5.6pc
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 4.7pc
• Punjab: 4.2pc

Positivity ratio in different cities across Pakistan:

• Karachi: 20.12pc
• Hyderabad: 18.43pc
• Abbottabad: 14.53pc
• Muzaffarabad: 11.48pc
• Mirpur: 10.57pc
• Quetta: 9.91pc
• Peshawar: 9.17pc
• Swat: 7.32pc
• Faisalabad: 6.81pc
• Lahore: 5.69pc
• Rawalpindi: 4.95pc
• Gilgit: 4.76pc

In addition, 301 coronavirus patients were on ventilators across the country. The maximum number of patients on the ventilator is in Punjab, of which 80 are in Lahore, 40 are in Multan, 19 in Rawalpindi and four in Faisalabad.

In Sindh, there were 75 patients on ventilators in Karachi while there was no such patient in Hyderabad. In KP, 41 patients were on ventilators in Peshawar while Abbottabad did not have any such patient.

There were no patients on ventilators in Balochistan and GB while Islamabad Capital Territory has 40 such patients. There are also two patients on ventilators in Muzaffarabad.

Govt promises free vaccinations

A day earlier, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services (NHS) Dr Nausheen Hamid announced that free vaccination would start from the second quarter of 2021.

The parliamentary secretary for NHS, in a tweet, announced that the government would start vaccination from the second quarter of 2021. “PTI government will provide the coronavirus vaccine free of cost to the people,” Dr Hamid claimed.

An official of the NHS ministry said that all vaccines under routine immunisation programmes, including polio vaccine, were already being provided free of cost.

“The government has allocated an amount of $150 million for the Covid-19 vaccine and it will be provided free of cost. However, different segments of society will be prioritised for the vaccination and initially it will be given to healthcare workers, officials of law enforcement agencies, most exposed persons, etc,” he said.