The Covid positivity ratio in Pakistan has increased from 2.89 per cent to 3.16 per cent in the last 24 hours, the highest in the three months, according to the daily statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre issued on Sunday.

The last time the country reported the Covid positivity ratio at such a level was on September 30 2021 when the ratio stood at 3.23%. The increasing numbers of cases and coronavirus rates have already rung the alarm bells across the country, with experts and NCOC urging the public to “immediately” get vaccinated against the virus and strictly follow the SOPs.

In a tweet, the NCOC shared the daily update. “Statistics 9 Jan 22: Total tests in last 24 hours: 49,658, positive cases: 1,572, positivity %: 3.16%, deaths: 7, patients on critical Care: 604.”

On January 7, at least 26 nurses in the nursing hostel of the Mayo Hospital, Lahore tested positive for the coronavirus. According to the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr Iftikhar, the infected nurses have been quarantined in the hostel and all the hospital staff has been instructed to follow the standard operating procedures to stem Covid spread.

The NCOC has already asked the provinces to meet the vaccination target at the earliest in order to stem the spread of new Covid variant – Omicron – in the country that according to NCOC head Asad Umar was spreading in the big cities of the country at a fast rate.

“Karachi and Lahore account for around 60 per cent of the Omicron cases in the country. It is more important for the people of these two cities -- Karachi and Lahore -- to reach the nearest vaccination centre and get themselves vaccinated,” NCOC head Asad Umar said in a press conference on Jan 5.

The NCOC on January 2 had tweeted that clear evidence of a beginning of another Covid wave, which has been expected for the last few weeks, were springing up. He had reiterated that wearing a mask was the “best protection” against the virus.