Islamabad's COVID-19 test positivity rate has increased to 7.7 per cent amid a continued rise in the number of new coronavirus cases in the Pakistani capital, according to health authorities.

On Wednesday, the capital registered 228 new COVID-19 cases and two additional fatalities, which increased the overall infection tally and the death toll to 20,471 and 224, respectively, reports Dawn news.

Officials from the capital administration said the number of active cases has been increasing gradually for the last few weeks, as the number of new cases reported daily outnumbered recoveries.

Also on Wednesday, a government college and a school were sealed after students and staff members tested positive for the virus.

In a statement, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) warned that COVID-19 would continue to spread across the country in the coming days, and that the nature of the disease this time was more severe.

The association said urgent precautions were required, while political and religious gatherings needed to be cancelled.

As of Thursday, Pakistan has reported a total of 338,875 confirmed coronavirus cases and 6,893 deaths.

(IANS)