ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday witnessed another day with over 5,000 coronavirus cases and more than a hundred deaths amid the worsening condition during the third wave of the pandemic.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 5,364 coronavirus cases in the past day as the total number of cases surged to 745,182. There were another 118 deaths from the virus, taking the death toll to 15,982.
The total number of active cases has surged to 78,425 while the positivity rate stood at 8.31 percent. There are 4302 patients who remain in critical condition in hospital across the country.
There were 64,481 coronavirus detection tests conducted in the past day, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 11 million since the first case was reported. Overall 650,755 people have recovered from the virus including 4,123 in past day.
Punjab continues to remain the worst affected area with 42,037 active cases. There have been 261,173 cases and 7,271 deaths in the province so far. Islamabad has recorded 68,665 cases and 626 deaths while there are 12,817 active cases in the federal capital.
The number of coronavirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have reached 103,419 cases and 2,796 deaths while there are 13,303 active cases in the province. Sindh has recorded 270,963 cases and 4,541 deaths while Balochistan has recorded 20,662 cases and 222 deaths.
Amid a rapid rise in coronavirus, the Punjab government has further tightened Covid-19 restrictions across the province. According to a notification issued by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, all commercial activities shall be closed by 6pm on weekdays and shall remain completely closed on Saturday and Sunday.
There is a complete ban on indoor weddings throughout the province whereas a ban is also imposed on outdoor weddings in cities where the positivity ratios is more than eight percent including Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Gujranwala and many other cities of the province.
The notification said that there is a complete ban on indoor dining throughout the province and only take away/home delivery will be allowed. It said that outdoor dining was also banned in cities with over 8 per cent positivity rate.
It said that inter-city public transport shall operate with 50 percent of capacity whereas rail service shall operate with 70 percent capacity. The restrictions will be in effect till April 26.
