ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases across the country as the government struggles to control the surging number of cases amid the third wave.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 5,234 cases and 83 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
The total number of cases recorded so far has swelled to 678,165 cases while the death toll stands at 14,613 cases. There are 3,384 patients who remain in critical condition for the deadly disease.
The total number of active cases was recorded at 56,347 and the positivity rate stood at 10.43 percent. Overall 607,205 people have recovered from the virus including 1,931 in the past day.
There were 50,170 coronavirus detection tests conducted in the past day, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 10.297 million since the first case was reported.
Punjab has been the worst affected amid the third wave as it witnessed the highest number of cases fueled by UK variant which is more contagious. There have been 225,953 cases recorded so far and 6,485 deaths. There are 28,871 cases in the provinces.
Islamabad has recorded 59,401 cases and 572 deaths while there are 10,779 active cases in the region. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 89,255 cases and 2,382 deaths recorded so far while there are 9,707 active cases. Sindh has recorded 225,953 cases and 4,504 deaths
Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar once again urged upon the nation to take sensible preparations to stop the spread of the third wave of COVID-19.
“The entire region is experiencing a severe covid spike. It is vital that we all contribute to containing the spread by taking sensible precautions”, he said in his tweet. He advised to wear a mask, avoid crowded places, wash hands or sanitize often and reduce travel to only essential work.
