ISLAMABAD: As many as 42 people succumbed to the Covid-19 disease over the last 24 hours — the country’s highest daily death toll since Oct 6, when 46 people died in a single day.

Besides, as the country con­tinues to grapple with the fifth wave of Covid-19, driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, 98,333 patients are in quarantine — either at their homes or elsewhere.

According to data released by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Thursday, 5,830 people tested positive and 42 succumbed to the virus over the last 24 hours.

The national positivity rate was 9.75pc, whereas the number of patients in critical care was 1,590.

According to a document available with Dawn, 47,998 people were quarantined in Sindh, 19,940 in Punjab, 14,433 in Islamabad, 3,038 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 408 in Balochistan and 216 persons in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As for cities, 37,944 people were in quarantine in Kar­a­chi, 14,433 in Islamabad, 6,388 in Peshawar, 3,672 in Hyderabad, 1,479 in Mardan and 1,025 in Muzaffarabad. In 18 cities, fewer than 1,000 people were in quarantine on Thursday, data showed.

According to another document, the mortality rate in Pakistan is 2.04pc compared to the global average of 1.51pc. Besides, out of the total 29,000 deaths due to Covid-19, 61pc were of males.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2022