As the fifth wave of Covid-19 intensifies in the country, the positivity rate also shot up to 7.36 per cent over the last 24 hours. The country also recorded at least 3,000 positive cases during the last 24 hours with 3,567 people testing positive according to the National Command and Operation Centre data.

The last time the positivity rate was this high was on August 30, 2021.

With seven new deaths of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the total number of fatalities due to the coronavirus has reached close to 29,000 mark since the emergence of the pandemic in the country.

According to the NCOC data, at least 1.3 million people have been infected with the virus since 2020, while the total number of recoveries of Covid-19 stood at more than 1.2 million mark.

Currently 675 Covid-19 patients are on critical care across the country.

A 65-year-old man tested positive for the Omicron variant in Karak district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This was the first case of Omicron in the KP district, reported Aaj News.

The patient, who has no travel history, has been shifted to a Peshawar hospital for the treatment. According to the report, his condition was stable.

During the last 24 hours, Sindh topped in new Covid-19 cases with 2,321 new cases of the infection were reported from the province.

The Covid-19 positivity ratio in Karachi has reached 31% on Thursday, The News reported.

However, quoting an official of the Sindh Health Department, the report stated that "no drastic measures were under consideration" by the provincial government to control the spread of the pandemic as hospitalisation had not increased in the city.

"We [the provincial government] have decided not to take any drastic measures unless the hospitalisation increases to 40 - 50%," the reported quoted lawmaker Qasim Soomro, parliamentary secretary health in the Sindh Assembly.

He added the government was taking some measures to promote vaccination and taking action against businesses doing public dealing with unvaccinated staff. However, no stringent measures were under consideration at the moment in Karachi, he added.

In a tweet on Friday, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said 50 per cent of the population aged 12 years and above has been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Amid rising Covid-19 cases, he also urged people to follow SOPs by wearing masks, especially indoors.

So far, at least 76 million people across the country have been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the NCOC data.

Booster dose drive for citizens aged 18, above to start from tomorrow

As part of efforts to expedite vaccination efforts, the National Command and Operation Centre on Friday announced its decision to expand the booster dose campaign among people aged 18 and above from Saturday (tomorrow).

The NCOC, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s anti-Covid strategy, in a tweet said that booster (one dose) would be administered after six months gap from complete vaccination.