Pakistan crosses 25,000 COVID deaths amid stricter vaccine drive

Pakistan has crossed another grim milestone of 25,000 coronavirus-related deaths as authorities struggle to contain the highly contagious Delta variant.

At least 80 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 25,003, according to the health ministry on Monday

Pakistan’s positive test rate was reported at 7 percent, with 3,772 confirmed new cases. The country has so far reported 1,127,584 cases, according to official data.

The government-run vaccination drive, started in February, initially saw a slow response but picked up pace later.

More than 46 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

However, millions of people in Pakistan are still unwilling to receive a shot despite a surge in new infections and sufficient vaccine supplies, authorities say.

Unvaccinated people were banned from domestic air travel earlier this month.

A ban on train travel for unvaccinated people will start in October as part of the country’s measures to counter vaccine hesitancy.