Pakistan reports highest number of COVID deaths in 20 days

Pakistan reports highest number of COVID deaths in 20 days. Pakistan reported the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the last 20 days as eight people succumbed to the virus in a single day, National Institute of Health, Islamabad’s (NIH) data showed Thursday morning.

The country reported nine deaths in a single day on July 7.

As per the latest stats, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Pakistan stands at 3.65%. As many as 761 new COVID-19 infections were detected after testing on 20,843 samples, taking the country’s total coronavirus case count to 1,552,632.

Meanwhile, 170 people suffering from the virus are being treated in critical care units.

What is COVID BA.5 variant and why is it reinfecting so many people?

BA5, part of the Omicron family, is the latest coronavirus variant to cause widespread waves of infection globally.

Read more: Pakistan reports 694 coronavirus cases, no death in 24 hours

According to the World Health Organisation’s most recent report, it was behind 52% of cases sequenced in late June, up from 37% in one week. In the United States, it is estimated to be causing around 65% of infections.

Rising case numbers

BA5 is not new. First identified in January, it has been tracked by the WHO since April.

It is a sister variant of the Omicron strain that has been dominant worldwide since the end of 2021 and has already caused spikes in case rates – even with reduced testing – in countries including South Africa, where it was first found, as well as the United Kingdom, parts of Europe, and Australia.

Coronavirus cases worldwide have now been rising for four weeks in a row, WHO data showed.