The total number of recovered coronavirus patients in the country has reached 219,783 after 6,608 additional recoveries, which is almost 81 percent of the total 271,490 reported so far.
The Health Ministry said that after days of decline, daily fatalities spiked to 54 and raised the death toll to 5,763, while recoveries stand at 219,783.
Pakistan, which recorded over 130,000 COVID-19 cases in June alone, has conducted more than 1.8 million tests so far.
According to the latest update, more than 1,400 new infections were recorded across the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 271,490.
Infections and fatalities have gradually declined since June 19, with officials crediting the strategy of locality-based lockdowns in scores of hotspots across some 20 large cities.
However, Zafar Mirza, the country’s top health official, warned the “challenge is not over yet” as he called for caution on Eidul Azha that will be celebrated next week.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that the province recorded 917 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 116,800. With 14 additional fatalities reported over the last 24 hours, Sindh’s death toll has risen to 2,110 – the highest of any province in Pakistan. Punjab has reported the second highest number of deaths at 2,105.
Also, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab announced on Friday that over 100,000 coronavirus patients have recovered from the virus in Sindh.
Wahab also stated that the recent recoveries have brought in the total recovery rate of the province to 86%. However, he did not share the exact figure of the people that have recovered by the virus.
Over the past 24 hours, Punjab has recorded 294 additional cases and five new deaths, the government’s Covid-19 portal said. The total number of cases in Punjab is 91,423, while the provincial death toll is 2,105. As many as 68,439 patients have recovered from the virus.
Moreover, 173 new cases were confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the total to 33,071. Only 1 new death was reported in KP from Abbottabad taking the total to 1,170. This is the lowest death toll recorded in KP since March. Also, 262 new patients recovered taking tally to 26,869. The number of total tests conducted in KP stands at 200,390.
Likewise, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively recorded less than 100 cases over the past 24 hours, the government’s COVID-19 portal said. Two deaths have also been reported – one in GB and AJK apiece.
Following is the breakdown of cases in Islamabad and the federal territories: Islamabad: 14,766, GB: 1,918, AJK: 1,989.
Over in Balochistan, another 27 cases of coronavirus were reported in the past 24 hours to bring the provincial tally to 11,550.
According to health officials, no casualties were reported for the third day in a row as death toll stands at 136. So far, 9,899 patients have recovered from the deadly disease in the province.
Also, a 103-year-old man has recovered from COVID-19 in Pakistan to become one of the oldest survivors of the disease in the world, beating the odds in a country with a weak healthcare system, his relatives and doctors said. Aziz Abdul Alim, a resident of a village in the mountainous northern district of Chitral, was released last week from an emergency response centre after testing positive in early July.
