The second wave of COVID-19 is growing stronger, warned Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Tuesday.

“Eighty-nine deaths, the highest number of daily deaths over the past few months, were reported today,” said Dr Sultan.

The country-wide death toll has now reached 8,497. With 2,885 new cases reported over 24 hours, the total number of cases is now 423,179. The national positivity ratio stands at 8.58, according to the National Command and Operations Centre.

The highest ratio, 21.8, was reported in Karachi, followed by 18.31 in Mirpur and 16 in Muzaffarabad.

Positivity rate in other major cities:

Lahore: 5.98Rawalpindi: 8.51Faisalabad: 3.73Multan: 2.38Gujranwala:0.24Karachi: 21.80Hyderabad: 9.15%Peshawar: 14.91Swat: 4.04Abbottabad: 13.35Quetta: 4.81Gilgit: 4.44

The positivity ratio in provinces is:

Sindh:13.87AJK: 9.77KP is 9.67Balochistan: 8.68 Islamabad: 4.88Punjab: 4GB: 2.78During the first wave, people took the virus seriously, said Dr Sultan, adding that SOP compliance had prevented the first wave from getting worse.

He appealed to the heads of organisations and institutes to implement SOPs strictly.

Maintain proper ventilation, ensure social distancing, prevent crowding, make masks compulsory and provide an arrangement for washing hands, the SAPM advised.

Scientific evidence shows these work to control the spread of the coronavirus, he added. The government is observing an “SOPs compliance week” from December 5 to 12.