Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Tuesday rose to 76,398.
Overall, 27,850 cases were reported in Punjab, 29,647 in Sindh, 10,482 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,514 in Balochistan, 738 in Gilgit Baltistan, 2, 893 in Islamabad, and 271 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the National Command and Control Centre, the death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 1,621, while at least 27,110 patients have fully recovered.
The number of coronavirus cases has continued to soar despite the country remained under a lockdown nearly one and a half month.
Meanwhile, wearing masks at crowded places has been declared mandatory to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that a lockdown is not a cure for the coronavirus.
“I was very clear-minded that from the very first day since the virus outbreak that the situation of Pakistan is very different from China and Europe and hence strict lockdown cannot be imposed here,” said PM Khan while addressing a news conference after chairing the meeting of National Coordination Committee (NCC).
“We imposed a lockdown when 26 coronavirus cases were detected in the country,” he added.
“This coronavirus is not going anywhere and we will have to live with it while striking a balance between poverty and lockdown.”
There will be dire consequences of returning to normal life without taking any preventive measures against the virus, said the prime minister.
“We are planning to open the tourism sector but high risk sectors will continue to remain closed,” he said.
PM Imran said people in India are dying due to lockdown and virus is still spreading in the neighbouring country.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 6 million and death toll tops 374,000.
