LAHORE: With 10 more deaths due to Covid-19 during the last 24 hours in Punjab, the positivity rate of the infection has increased to 6.5 in Rawalpindi, a district reporting the highest percentage across the province so far.

Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Sara Aslam said on Monday the province had reported 2.1 infectivity ratio of Covid-19. She said Lahore reported 2.7, Faisalabad 2.6 and Multan reported 1.6 positivity ratio of the coronavirus.

The total number of infections in Punjab reached 350,618 after 359 more people tested positive for the virus during the last 24 hours, she said.

Of them, 186 were reported from Lahore, 87 from Rawalpindi, 18 from Faisalabad, nine from Multan while other cases were reported from Chakwal, Khushab, Sheikhupura, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujranwala, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar, Gujrat, Mianwali, Nankana, Okara, Pakpattan etc.

The health secretary said the total number of deaths in Punjab had reached 10,881 with most of them reported in the provincial capital.

She said the health authorities had issued special and revised guidelines after the province confirmed presence of Delta variant.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021