Islamabad [Pakistan], July 4 (ANI): Pakistan recorded 675 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 1,538,622, the country's ministry of health said on Monday. A total of 30,403 people have died from the pandemic in Pakistan, including two more deaths recorded on Sunday, showed data released by the ministry. On Sunday, 14,632 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in Pakistan while the positivity rate stood at 4.61 percent. Currently, there are 153 active cases that are in critical condition in the South Asian country. Amid fears of a new wave of coronavirus, experts advocated mask-wearing indoors in cities reporting cases that constitute over 5 per cent positivity, reported Geo News.

They also stressed vigilant watch through good surveillance and testing, vaccination with emphasis on boosters and communication about rising risk, especially in urban settings.

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Pakistan is currently witnessing a new surge in the COVID-19 cases and amid this, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also tweaked its mask mandates where now the masks are mandatory again for domestic flights with immediate effect.

According to a notification from CAA, all concerned quarters must ensure compliance with the new order. The notification added that the other Covid-19 guidelines on domestic air travel remained unchanged.

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While speaking with Dawn, University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Akram had said the virus was behaving like a "roller coaster". "The country will face similar situations for a few years," Dr Akram said.

Akram said that the restrictions must be put back in place to contain the virus. He added that these measures will also help to fight the ongoing energy crisis. He said that people should go for vaccination and those who were already immunized should get booster shots. (ANI)

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