Report on Increasing COVID-19 Cases Dismissed By SHD
by Hamna Bano
SHARES
On Tuesday, the Sindh Health Department dismissed a news report claiming that there had been an alarming jump in Karachi’s COVID-19 positivity rate. They termed it to be sensational.
A private news channel cited an official from the National Institute of Health in Islamabad as telling that “the COVID positivity rate in Karachi had reached 28.30 percent after 30 out of 106 people screened for the viral infection tested positive.” This news was out without any mention of the time period the data was taken.
𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝!
Sindh Health Department dismisses a sensational report claiming a jump in COVID-19 cases.
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.#COVID19 #health #Sindh #TrendingNow #report #BreakingNews #HealthwireNews
— Healthwire News (@HealthwireNews) March 22, 2023
The Provincial Health Department, however, issued a statement today from its Public Relations Officer Mehar Khursheed stating that “the report was sensationalizing the positivity rate in Karachi.”
The department said that the individuals undergoing COVID-19 testing showed symptoms of the disease, thereby resulting in a high positivity rate.
“However, due to the fact that most of the population has been successfully vaccinated against Covid, there are very few severe cases”, the report added.
“It is still wise to practice caution and follow standard operating procedures. The general population should wear masks when visiting hospitals or in crowded places. People are encouraged to get booster doses to boost up the immunity against the virus and prevent the spread of infection”, mentioned the statement.
Meanwhile, the daily situation report issued by the Sindh Health Department on Monday, March 20 revealed that the positivity rate in Karachi was 4.69 percent after 47 people tested positive from 1003 tests conducted in total. The average positivity rate in the province however was 4.78 percent. The previous week, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) recommended wearing masks in crowded and tightly closed areas and healthcare facilities i.e Doctors Hospital and Hameed Latif Hospital. These guidelines were issued for a period of up to 30 April keeping in view the COVID-19 trend in the country.
