ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has surpassed the grim milestone of 900,000 cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, as it continues to grapple with the virus since it first emerged in February last year.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported another 3,084 cases and 74 deaths in the previous 24-hour period. The national tally of coronavirus cases has reached 900,552 while the death toll stands at 20,251.
The number of active cases has reached 62,620 while there are 4,392 people in critical condition. There were 62,064 tests conducted in the past day, while the positivity ratio has dropped to 4.96%. Overall 817,681 people have recovered from the virus, including 3,826 in the past day.
Punjab still remains the most affected region although Sindh has reported a rising in cases since the past few days. Punjab has recorded 333,971 cases and 9,768 deaths, while the number of active cases in the province stands at 23,764. Islamabad has recorded 80,312 cases and 745 deaths while there are 7,628 active cases in the federal capital.
Sindh has recorded 308,118 cases and 4,909 deaths while the number of active cases in the province has increased to 22,212. The number of coronavirus cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 129,413 and 3,924 deaths while Balochistan has recorded 24,517 cases and 270 deaths.
Statistics 23 May 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 62,061
Positive Cases: 3084
Positivity % : 4.96%
Deaths : 74— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) May 23, 2021
Meanwhile, the NCOC has directed provinces to refrain from reopening educational institutions in districts with high COVID-19 infection rates.
The NCOC has sent a letter to provinces and said educational institutions in the districts where the coronavirus positivity ratio is high, should not reopen on May 24 as was previously decided. The educational institutes must instead remain closed till June 6.
It added that districts with infection rate below 5 percent can reopen educational institutions on May 24. The NCOC has set a cap of 5% positivity ratio for reopening of schools; if a district has an infection rate higher than the limit, educational institutes there are barred from reopening.
