ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 4,200 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, its highest caseload since the end of August, as a fifth COVID-19 wave is sweeping the country, driven by the highly transmissible omicron strain of the infection.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, reported 4,286 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths in Pakistan the past 24 hours as the country’s test positivity rate increased to 8.16 percent from below 1 percent only two weeks ago, as omicron spreads more rapidly than its other COVID-19 variants.
Statistics 15 Jan 22:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 52,522
Positive Cases: 4286
Positivity %: 8.16%
Deaths :4
Patients on Critical Care: 709— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) January 15, 2022
The last time Pakistan reported over 4,200 new cases was on Aug. 25 last year, when 4,467 people tested positive for coronavirus in a single day.
The omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, with the first known case in Pakistan identified last month in a woman who had no travel history outside the country.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, warned earlier this month that the new variant is already spreading in the country at a “great pace.”