pakistan 
Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity ratio remained over 3% for the third consecutive day, as the country battles COVID-19’s Omicron variant.
According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 1,467 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. A total of 43,540 tests were conducted. The returned positivity ratio was about 3.33%.
Pakistan’s overall infections passed 1.307 million, while two deaths were reported, spiking the death toll to 28,974.
On Sunday, the patients in critical care moved up from 604 to 617, according to NCOC’s data.
Meanwhile, Asad Umar urged the nation to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the face of a rising positivity rate.
“People should follow SOPs to save themselves from the newer variants of the virus which is spreading in the country again,” the minister said.
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He was addressing the prize distribution ceremony under the NCOC to honour teams working to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Umar said the people who haven’t been vaccinated must get jabbed as soon as possible.
“People over the age of 30 who were completely vaccinated six months ago should go for a booster dose,” the NCOC chief said.
The minister praised the efforts of all ground workers, NCOC, vaccination teams, health workers and provincial as well as federal agencies for coordinated efforts that strived to make the campaign successful.
A total of 162.1 million vaccine doses have been administered so far.
According to the official statistics, over 73 million people have been fully vaccinated and about 99 million people partially vaccinated.
After the Omicron variant was detected in Pakistan, the NCOC declined the age limit for the COVID-19 booster jabs from January 1. Now, individuals aged 30 years or over are eligible for it.
