COVID-19: Pakistan reports another 5,480 cases, 151 deaths

ISLAMABAD: A day after reporting the highest single-day death toll, Pakistan reported over 5,000 infections on Thursday as the government mulls on imposing a complete lockdown in various cities.

Yesterday, Pakistan reported 201 deaths in a single day which is the highest since the pandemic began last year.  The previous record was last Saturday April 24 when Pakistan recorded 157 fatalities over the previous 24-hour period.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, Pakistan reported another 5,480 cases and 151 deaths in the previous day. The national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 815,711 while the death toll stands at 17,680.

There were 57,013 samples were tested in the past day, while the positivity ratio was 9.6 percent. Over all 708,193 people have recovered from the virus, including 3,699 in the past day. There are still 89,838 active cases in the country while 5,263 people remain in critical condition.

Punjab has reported 298,818 cases and 8,327 deaths, while the number of active cases in the province stands at 48,423. Islamabad has recorded 74,640 cases and 677 deaths while there are 12,727 active cases in the federal capital.

The number of coronavirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 116,523 and 3,238 deaths while there are 12,938 active cases in the province. Sindh has recorded 281,385 cases and 4,629 deaths while Balochistan has recorded 22,118 cases and 233 deaths.

READ MORE: COVID-19: Pakistan reports highest ever single-day death toll

Amid the surging cases, the government is mulling over imposing a lockdown in 20 cities from 2/3 May ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. A list mentioned 20 cities across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where the coronavirus situation has worsened and the restrictions imposed by the authorities have failed to control the virus spread.

The cities where the lockdown might be imposed include Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Mardan, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Swat, Swabi, Muzaffarabad, Sudhnuti, Poonch, and Bagh. The NCOC has directed the local administration to forward their input for necessary action.