Surge in Covid cases putting burden on health facilities: Dr Faisal

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan has urged the public to strictly adhere to the SOPs to avoid the spread of the Covid-19, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

While briefing media, he said people should wear masks, observe social distancing, wash hands at regular intervals and avoid big gatherings.

He pointed out that the surging coronavirus case count is putting stress on the health care system. The SAPM urged the nation to observe precautions while celebrating events such as weddings or Christmas.

Faisal Sultan said cooperation is required at the grassroots level to check the spread of the pandemic.

Read More: COVID-19: Over 100 deaths recorded as pandemic intensifies in Pakistan

A major surge in daily death count from COVID-19 was seen during its second wave as 105 people died of coronavirus and 2,731 new infections were reported within 24 hours in Pakistan.

In the past 24 hours, 105 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 9,010. 2,265 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours and 2,510 patients are in critical condition.

The total count of active cases is 48,369.

Read: COVID claims 26pc lives outside hospitals across Sindh

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 445,977.

The overall positivity rate of COVID-19 cases is recorded at 7.2 per cent, whereas, the number of critical patients is consistently increasing in Pakistan.

It was recorded at 14.8 pc in Sindh, 11.3 pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 5 pc in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 4.9 pc in Balochistan, 3.2 pc in Punjab and the lowest rate was 1.6 per cent in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).