ISLAMABAD: The lowest positivity rate for Covid-19 and the least number of infections were reported on Tuesday in the country for the past 14 months.

According to data shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the positivity rate dropped to 0.64 per cent with 216 infections over the last 24 hours.

Earlier, 213 cases were reported on August 30 last year. Six people succumbed to coronavirus on Tuesday. The number of active cases was 22,626 and 1,141 patients were in hospitals, while 116 ventilators were in use across the country.

The World Health Organi­sation (WHO) released its fourth global tobacco trends report on Tuesday.

According to the report, there are 1.3 billion tobacco users globally compared to 1.32bn in 2015 and the number is expected to drop to 1.27bn by 2025.

It says Pakistan is the only country in the region on track to achieving the voluntary global target of a 30pc reduction in tobacco use between 2010 and 2025. Two years ago only 32 countries were on track.

Four of the six countries in the world where tobacco use is increasing are in this region.

The WHO urges countries to invest in helping more people to quit tobacco. Millions of lives have been saved by effective and comprehensive tobacco control policies under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

“It is very encouraging to see fewer people using tobacco each year, and more countries on track to meet global targets,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Gheb­reyesus, the WHO director general.

The report also urges countries to accelerate implementation of the measures outlined in the WHO FCTC.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2021