Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 495,075 on Thursday after 2,482 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country during the last 24 hours.
Overall, 221,734 cases were confirmed in Sindh, 142,835 in Punjab, 60,229 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18,300 in Balochistan, 38,687 in Islamabad, 4,874 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 8,416 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's COVID-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached to 10,511 with 50 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, total number of recovered COVID-19 patients across the country reached 450,515 after another 2,122 virus recoveries were reported.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan has said healthcare workers played a pivotal role to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan.
Addressing a ceremony organized to pay tribute to Covid Frontline Warriors in Islamabad on Thursday, he lauded the courage and bravery of doctors and paramedics of the country.
The SAPM expressed his gratitude for their services in fight against the pandemic.
Highlighting government's initiatives for healthcare, Dr Faisal said after the pandemic world has realized the importance of quality healthcare system.
The SAPM said that the government has introduced health card scheme to ensure provision of healthcare to poor segments of society.
Moreover, Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of National Health Services Dr Nausheen Hamid has said that the government is expecting to receive the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month.
Talking to a private news channel, she said that government is urgently preparing a database of all government and private health personnel to vaccinate them against the novel coronavirus in first phase.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 85 million and death toll tops 1.8 million.
