Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan increased as 779 new infections were reported in the country on Friday.
As per data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), 22,099 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country during last 24 hours.
Two deaths were reported from the disease while around 1,314 people recovered in the last 24 hours. 182 patients were on critical care across the country. The current positivity ratio stands at 3.53%.
The last time Pakistan reported over 700 cases was on July 9 when 732 infections had emerged.
As per the experts, the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan was due to two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5 that have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.
"The sub-variants have also been infecting people who are already vaccinated or have already been infected with COVD-19, but no evidence is available to show if they are causing any severe disease among the vaccinated people," they said.