Pakistan reports less than 300 Covid cases, 14 deaths

ISLAMABAD: As many as 14 more patients of Covid-19 died in the last 24 hours and 277 new cases emerged when 41,927 tests were conducted.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the nationwide death toll climbed to 28,863 after 14 more people succumbed to the viral disease.

Also Read: Covid Omicron variant grips cells more tightly, withstands some antibodies

A total of 41,927 samples were tested, out of which 277 turned out to be positive, taking the country’s caseload to 1,290,491. The positivity rate was recorded at 0.66 per cent, a little lower than yesterday’s 0.70 per cent.

The number of critical patients of Covid has come down to 718, the NCOC said.

Vaccine Statistics:
Vaccine administered across Pakistan in last 24 hours:
1,139,561
Total vaccine administered till now: 137,120,270

— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) December 16, 2021

The National Institute of Health (NIH) earlier this week confirmed Pakistan’s first case of Covid-19 Omicron variant in a female patient from Karachi.

Also Read: Covid Omicron variant thrives in airways, not lungs; new data on asymptomatic cases

In a Twitter statement, the NIH said it has been able to “confirm (via whole genome sequencing) that a recently suspected sample from Karachi is indeed the ‘Omicron variant’ of SARS-CoV2.” “This is the first confirmed case but continued surveillance of suspected samples is in place to identify the trends.”