Amid strict measures and a vaccination drive against coronavirus, Pakistan has reported a COVID-19 positivity rate below 3 per cent for the first time in 2021, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said on Tuesday.

According to the data from the NCOC, the country conducted 46,882 tests on Monday across the country bringing out 1,383 new cases with a positivity rate of 2.95 per cent. In March and April this year, the country witnessed a positivity ratio of over 11 per cent for several times, leading the government to impose strict measures, including the closure of educational institutes, markets, public parks, wedding halls, restaurants, public transport and all other large gatherings.

At the start of May, the positivity rate dropped to below 10 per cent and it went down to below 5 per cent on May 22 and finally fell to below 3 per cent on Monday, according to the data from the NCOC. Pakistan's overall number of cases rose to 935,013, including 867,447 recoveries since February last year when the country reported its first Covid infection.

There is a total of 46,190 active cases across the country, including 3,196 those who are in critical condition. According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 53 people during the last 24 hours, increasing the overall death toll to 21,376.