Pakistan reported 708 new coronavirus cases in the last day, showing an increase from 594 the day prior, according to new figures released Monday morning by National Command and Operation Centre.

The last time Pakistan reported 700+ cases was October 30, 2021.

The countrywide breakdown is as follows:

Sindh: 415 cases Punjab: 217 cases Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 39 cases Islamabad: 35 cases Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 2 cases

Data also shows there are 10,184 active cases, of whom 632 are in critical condition.

NCOC orders provinces to meet vaccination targets at earliest

The NCOC on Monday directed provinces to achieve the set vaccination target “as soon as possible,” Aaj News reported.

According to a statement, the decision was made during the NCOC meeting that was presided over by its head Asad Umar, who has already warned of another wave of contagion in the country based on the results of genome sequencing.

The forum, which serves as the nerve centre of the country’s unified efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, reviewed the Covid statistics, vaccination policy, virus outbreak, vaccination targets at the district level.

It decided to take strict measures for vaccination. “The fifth wave of Covid in form of the Omicron variant was spreading at a faster pace. In the past three days, Karachi’s Covid positivity ratio has increased from 2% to 6%,” it read.

The NCOC urged the citizens to get vaccinated against the virus, wear masks, and follow social distancing. “Vaccination lowers the chances of getting infected with Omicron.”

A day earlier, head of the NCOC Asad Umar tweeted evidence of a fifth wave emerging in the country.

Journalist Omar R Quraishi took to Twitter to say the anecdotal evidence of people with Covid did not match ground realities presented by authorities.

In related news, the National Health Services has allowed booster shots for vaccinated individuals over the age of 30 from Monday.