Karachi's coronavirus positivity ratio hits 23% as Delta variant spreads

KARACHI: The COVID-19 positivity ratio in Karachi has surged to 23 per cent due to the presence of highly infectious and deadly Indian delta variant in the metropolis, ARY News reported.

According to data released by Karachi University’s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), out of 90 samples tested at the ICCBS labs on July 14, the Delta variant was detected in 83 of them, constituting a 92pc ratio.

Health experts warned that if the cases continue to increase, the death toll in the country is also likely to get higher.

Last week as many as 65 more cases of the Indian Delta variant of the COVID-19 had been reported in Karachi.

Read more: PAKISTAN TO TRACK COVID-19 VARIANTS WITH GENOMIC SEQUENCING

According to the Director of ICCBS Professor Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhary, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at the University of Karachi had tested 2,062 samples on July 12 and 13.

Out of 2,062 samples that were tested, 163 turned out to be COVID-19 positive, of these 65 carried the Delta variant, he confirmed.

On June 12, 35 cases of the Indian Delta variant of the COVID-19 had been reported in Karachi.

On the other hand, Sindh reported 18 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours and 1467 new Covid-19 cases, according to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

The Sindh chief minister in a daily statement on Covid-19 situation in the province said that 1467 new cases detected in the province when 19655 tests were conducted during the past 24 hours.

“18 more people passed away overnight due to virus, taking the death toll to 5720 in Sindh,” he added.

What is the Delta variant of Covid-19?

Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally. One of these is the B.1.617 lineage, detected in India earlier this year. Early evidence suggests that its sub-lineage B.1.617.2, known as the Delta variant, is more transmissible than contemporary lineages.

The World Health Organizaton (WHO), which has given it the label Delta, has categorised it as a variant of concern (VOC). It has said it continues to observe “significantly increased transmissibility” and a “growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated with this variant”.

WHO classifies a variant as a VOC when it is associated with an increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology; increase in virulence; or decrease in the effectiveness of public health measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics.