Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 429,280 on Thursday after 3,138 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country during the last 24 hours.
Overall, 189,687 cases were reported in Sindh, 125,250 in Punjab, 50,762 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17,604 in Balochistan, 33,695 in Islamabad, 4,765 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 7,517 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 8,603 with 56 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, total number of recovered COVID-19 patients across the country reached 374,301 after another 2,030 virus recoveries were reported.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, held a telephone conversation on Wednesday and exchanged views on COVID-19 situation and efforts for polio eradication in Pakistan.
PM Imran shared Pakistan’s policy to control and mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on health and economy and apprised Gates of the country’s coordinated efforts being implemented through ‘smart lockdowns’ aimed at saving people from dying from the virus and hunger.
Noting the surge in COVID-19 cases, the premier underscored the government’s commitment to combat the second wave through firm actions.
Khan, however, noted that presently, implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) was more challenging.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 68.8 million and death toll tops 1.568 million.
