ISLAMABAD: The novel coronavirus has claimed more 85 lives and infected 2,152 people during the past 24 hours amid conflicting reports that new strain of the virus discovered in the United Kingdom has reached Pakistan.
According to the data released by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 85 more people succumbed to coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 9,753. 1,824 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours while 2,382 patients are still in critical condition.
The total count of active cases currently stands at 38,511. With the fresh inclusion of the infections in the country, the national tally of cases now currently stands at 467,222. A total of 39,435 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 418,958 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 6,482,889 samples have been tested thus far.
Sindh has reported the highest number 208,514 cases. They are 19,426 active cases and 3,340 deaths in the province. Punjab has reported 134,345 cases so far, while the total of active cases is 9,199 and 3,831 deaths.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 56,544 cases, 1,585 deaths while the total number of active cases stands at 4,104, while Balochistan has recorded 18,028 cases, 183 death and has 283 active cases. Islamabad has reported 36,844, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 8,103, and Gilgit Baltistan 4,844 cases.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan had there was no evidence of new COVID-19 strain in Pakistan.
Responding to claims Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, who heads the prime minister’s task-force on science and technology, the special assistant said by renowned scientist did not support his claims with evidence. He said the medical sector is now replete with charlatans and quacks who believe in sham practices rather than scientific evidence.
