ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s planning minister is encouraging the country’s 27 million citizens who are over 50 to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Asad Umar also heads the national body tasked to control coronavirus. He said people over 50 are vulnerable to serious health effects.

Umar in a tweet Sunday said that 5.6 million people, or 20.6% of those in Pakistan in that age group, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The federal body recorded a slight hike in the positivity rate. It’s asking residents to wear masks and maintain social distance at public places.

Authorities report 27 additional death and 1,980 more cases of the virus in a single day. That brings the country’s tally of deaths due to COVID-19 to 22582 and number of total confirmed cases to 973,284.