Pakistan reports steady Covid numbers

Pakistan has reported 18 more Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours (Sunday), showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Tuesday morning, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,636 whereas the number of total infections now climbed up to 1,575,698 after adding the fresh 18 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Sunday), 3,394 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at at 0.53 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 14 down from previous day’s 16.

COVID-19 Statistics 26 December 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 3,394
Positive Cases: 18
Positivity %: 0.53%
Deaths: 00
Patients on Critical Care: 14

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) December 26, 2022

UK to stop publishing Covid modelling data

After almost three years, the UK Health Security Agency will stop publishing COVID modelling data next month.

The increasingly sporadic updates on the virus's R number will cease from 6 January, with it deemed "no longer necessary" thanks to vaccines and therapeutics.

COVID's reproductive rate, which referred to the number of people an infected person will pass the disease on to, debuted back in May 2020 and was published weekly during the peak of the pandemic.

Along with the daily case and death numbers, it helped give the public an idea of how prevalent the virus was.

Since April 2021, the R number only referred to England rather than the UK as a whole - and since April 2022, it has been updated fortnightly instead of every week.

Dr Nick Watkins, chairman of the health agency's epidemiology modelling review group, said COVID would still be monitored but only similarly to common illnesses like flu.

Modelling data may be reintroduced if the situation calls for it, such as if a new variant of concern is identified.

COVID data will still be available from the Office for National Statistics.–Sky News