At least 26 nurses in the nursing hostel of the Mayo Hospital, Lahore on Friday tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country faces the emergence of a new Covid wave, Aaj News reported.

According to the hospital's Medical Superintendent Dr Iftikhar, the infected nurses have been quarantined in the hostel and all the hospital staff have been instructed to follow the standard operating procedures to stem Covid spread.

However, as per media reports, many visitors to hospitals have been flouting the SOPs.

The country recorded at least 1,000 cases for the second day during the last 24 hours, according to data by the National Command and Operation Centre, while the positive rate has doubled since the beginning of January.

The NCOC has already directed provinces to achieve the set vaccination target “as soon as possible.” “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 said on Monday.

The forum, which serves as the nerve centre of the country’s unified efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, has time and again urged the people to follow SOPs to stem the virus spread and overcome the pressure on hospitals. It has also urged to get the vaccination "immediately".