ISLAMABAD, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 positivity rate fell to 4.78 percent in Pakistan and the country reported 2,714 new cases over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Wednesday.

The last time the country's positivity rate was less than 5 percent was on July 24.

The number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,212,809, including 1,108,339 recoveries, the NCOC said.

According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 73 people over the last 24 hours in the country, increasing the total death toll to 26,938.

Pakistan's southern Sindh province is the most affected region of the country in terms of the number of cases with 446,840 infections followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 416,901 cases so far.

The NCOC said on its website that the country has administered a total of 70,402,987 doses of vaccine and had fully vaccinated 22,873,298 persons as of Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, NCOC chief Asad Umar said that Pakistanis who have still not been completely vaccinated against the virus will be barred from shopping, dining and travel, both domestic and international, after Sept. 30.

The government has changed its approach regarding the implementation of COVID-19 standard operating procedures. Instead of closing industries and businesses, restrictions will be increased on unvaccinated individuals. Enditem