KARACHI, January 16: Karachi is witnessing an alarming surge in coronavirus cases during the fifth Covid-19 wave fuelled by the Omicron variant with positivity rate exceeding 39 per cent in the metropolis during the last 24 hours.
Out of 15,172 people, 2,670 were tested positive for Covid-19 in Sindh, according to the latest figures issued by the CM House on Sunday.
The city’s positivity rate has increased by 4% in a single day while the provincial Covid-19 death toll reached 7,697 after three more patients succumbed to the virus overnight.
Meanwhile, the Sindh health department has decided to conduct random coronavirus testing of students across all schools of the province.
The provincial health department has also issued directives to district health officers (DHO) in this regard via a notification.
The notification stated that 100 samples will be collected from schools in each district of the province which will be sent to Dow Hospital laboratory to check disease prevalence.
Based on the results, the provincial government will take final decision regarding closure of educational institutions.
A day earlier, the Provincial Taskforce on Coronavirus meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was informed that infection rate had increased to 35.3% in Karachi, 5.12% in Hyderabad and 2.4% in the rest of the province. However, it was assured that the situation remained “under control”.
The health department informed the meeting that at present, there was no pressure on the hospitals while Covid-19 patients were recovering fast and the death rate had fallen to 1.6%. CM Murad directed for an audit of all the public and private hospitals to assess their facilities like beds, doctors, medicines etc.
The chief minister also directed the health department for the Covid-19 preparation plan so that necessary and timely measures could be taken. He added that he would review the Covid situation again within the next few days so that necessary decisions could be taken accordingly.
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