ISLAMABAD: The country’s daily Covid count stayed below 7,000 on Wednesday, but as many as 14 cities reported a positivity rate of over 11 per cent.

Of the total eligible population (age 12 and above), 54pc have been fully vaccinated, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Of the country’s entire population, the percentage stands at 36pc.

Data released by the NCOC on Wednesday showed that 6,047 more infections and 29 deaths were reported during the past 24 hours. The national positivity rate was recorded at 9.88pc, whereas 1,559 patients were on critical care.

The data showed a declining trend in the number of cases over the past few days. On Jan 28, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded across Pakistan was 8,183 — the country’s highest daily count since the pandemic began in February 2020.

Over the next three days (from Jan 29 to Jan 31), the number of new infections stood above 7,000, but then dropped to 5,327 on Tuesday (Feb 1).

According to a document available with Dawn, as many as 14 cities reported over 11pc positivity on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the highest positivity was reported in Diamer, where 38.89pc of the total tested samples were found Covid positive.

The positivity rate was recorded at 38.69pc in Muzaffarabad, 34.88pc in Gilgit, 25.28pc in Peshawar, 20pc in Skardu, 17.57pc in Karachi, 14.91pc in Nowshera, 13.93pc in Mardan, 13.87pc in Lahore, 13.84pc in Abbottabad, 13.73pc in Mirpur, 13.02pc in Quetta, 12.15pc in Swabi, and 11.2pc in Hyderabad.

Pakistan has been going through a fifth wave of the Covid-19 disease, driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The country confirmed its first case of the new variant on Dec 13 in Karachi through genome sequencing. Considered the most transmissible variant, Omicron has since then spread across the country through local transmission.

The NCOC has informed that as many as 36pc of total population and 54pc of the eligible population has been vaccinated.

The data shows that 105,575,650 people have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 82,554,781 have become fully vaccinated. Moreover, 2,575,094 people have received booster shots (an extra dose of a vaccine after the primary dose has been administered).

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2022