Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity rate hit a record 9.71 per cent on Monday as 3,795 new COVID-19 cases were detected, taking the nationwide tally to 420,294, the health ministry said.
The country also reported 37 more deaths in one day, pushing the number of fatalities across Pakistan to 8,398. A total of 2,539 are in critical conditions, said the Ministry of National Health Services.
After carrying out 39,076 tests in the last 24 hour, the national tally of cases reached 420,294, it said.
The previous record for positivity rate was 8.53 per cent recorded on November 29 at the beginning of the start of the second wave of the coronavirus, it added.
At least 356,542 people have recovered in the country, and the number of active patients is 55,354.
Sindh has reported 184,486 cases, Punjab 123,762, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 49,676, Islamabad 32,816, Balochistan 17,466, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 7,356 and Gilgit-Baltistan 4,732 cases.
As Pakistan struggled to combat the second wave, it got an offer from Russia to provide its COVID-10 vaccine, Foreign Officer Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.
He said the proposal has been forwarded to the health ministry, which is looking at the vaccine’s efficacy, regulations and results.
Chaudhri also added that the government was in contact with multiple sources to ensure “timely acquisition of COVID-19 vaccine”.
Pakistan already allocated an initial amount of USD 150 million to procure the vaccine. Officials said that it would be available by April.
