By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: As many as 118 people lost their lives in the country in the past 24 hours due to complications related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the death toll to 4,304.
According to latest data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 2,846 new infections were detected after 20,930 tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours, taking the national tally of cases to 209,336.
More than 1.28 million tests have been conducted in the country while 106,530 COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment and 98,503 patients have recuperated from the disease.
81,955 cases have been detected in Sindh so far, 75, 501 in Punjab, 26,115 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10,426 in Balochistan, 12, 775 in Islamabad, 1,065 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,470 in Gilgit Baltistan.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that coronavirus pandemic is not even close to being over as global death toll passed half a million and cases surge in Latin America and the United States.
In a statement in Geneva, World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, the number of infections recorded worldwide rose to more than 10 million. He said lockdown measures have crippled global economy, while pandemic is actually speeding up.
Keeping in view the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Punjab, the provincial government on Tuesday decided to extend the ongoing smart lockdown till 15th of July, media reported.
According to a notification, all the public and private educational institutes, parks, cinemas, restaurants and marriage halls will remain closed by July 15 across the province.
The government, however, decided to allow the opening of low-risk businesses provided they followed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the authorities.
The small markets and shops will remain open between 9:00 am till 7:00 pm. These businesses will be allowed to run five days a week and remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. Medical stores puncture shops, Tandoors and agriculture workshops have been exempted from the restrictions. The intercity bus service has also been exempted from the restrictions.
723 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) had been reported in Punjab in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections in the province to 75,501.
According to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, 46 more people had died due to complications related to the virus, taking the death toll in the province to 1,727.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday said that 2,655 more COVID-19 cases have come up in the past 24 hours, raising the provincial tally to 84,656, media reported.
“34 COVID-19 patients lost their lives today, bringing the overall fatalities from the virus to 1,377,” said the chief minister while giving a daily briefing on COVID-19 situation in the province.
He said that they had performed 453,386 virus tests so far in the province.
The chief minister said that overall 46,824 people have recuperated from the virus in the province, out of which, 1208 recovered during the past 24 hours.
Murad Ali Shah said that currently 36,455 people are treated for the virus in the Sindh province and of them 34,785 are isolated at their homes while 166 are present in isolation centres.
“We have 1,504 COVID-19 patients in hospitals with 708 in critical condition while 102 of them are put on ventilators,” said the chief minister.
He said that out of fresh cases reported today, 686 were reported from Karachi.
It is pertinent to mention here that as many as 118 people lost their lives in the country in the past 24 hours due to complications related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the death toll to 4,304.
According to latest data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 2,846 new infections were detected after 20,930 tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours, taking the national tally of cases to 209,336.
More than 1.28 million tests have been conducted in the country while 106,530 COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment and 98,503 patients have recuperated from the disease.
81,955 cases have been detected in Sindh so far, 75, 501 in Punjab, 26,115 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10,426 in Balochistan, 12, 775 in Islamabad, 1,065 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,470 in Gilgit Baltistan.
