Pakistan reports highest daily COVID-19 deaths in four months

Residents gather to receive a dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, after government warned of penalties for the unvaccinated, outside a vaccination facility in Karachi, Pakistan August 4, 2021. (REUTERS)
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  • Pakistan reports 50 deaths from coronavirus in last 24 hours
  • The country last reported 54 deaths on October 4, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported the highest daily death count from COVID-19 on Wednesday as 50 people died due to the virus, official data showed.

Though the number of daily new infections is falling in Pakistan, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the country’s official coronavirus response authority, reported that 50 people had died from the virus over the past 24 hours. The last time Pakistan reported a number higher than this was on October 4, 2021 when 54 people died due to the coronavirus.  

The surge in daily coronavirus-related deaths comes despite a significant drop in the daily number of infections reported across the country on Tuesday, when Pakistan recorded 2,799 new cases, the lowest in almost a month.  

The South Asian nation has been battling an omicron-driven fifth wave of infections.

The NCOC said 4,253 people had tested positive for coronavirus over the past 24 hours out of 51,749 tests conducted. The positivity rate in the country stands at 8.2% while 1,731 coronavirus patients are currently in critical care at hospitals. 

With the decline in the number of infections, the South Asian nation has allowed 100% capacity crowds at Pakistan Super League (PSL) games from February 16, according to the NCOC, and abolished the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for inbound passengers on arrival at Pakistan airports from February 8.