Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Friday rose to 243,599 after about 2,751 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty-four hours.
Overall, 85,261 cases were reported in Punjab, 100,900 in Sindh, 29,406 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,099 in Balochistan, 13,829 in Islamabad, 1,619 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 1,485 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 5,058 with 75 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
According to National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), there has been an improvement in the number of recoveries from COVID-19 in the country with figure now reaching 149, 092.
Nearly one-and-a-half months after imposing the lockdown across the country, the government announced to ease the lockdown in phases.
Later, "Smart lockdowns" had been imposed in Covid-19 hotspots in major cities across the country.
As per NCOC, the implementation on the smart lockdown in the country has significantly reduced the number of deaths.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said people have strictly adopted standard operating procedures (SOPs) due to which the number of Covid-19 cases in the country have decreased to a great extent.
Talking to a private news channel, the minister said the government has taken solid steps and instructed the masses to follow SOPs issued by the government to control the spread of the virus.
He said all stakeholders are effectively working and devising strategies to combat the pandemic.
Referring to Eidul Azha celebrations, the minister urged people to follow SOPs.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 12.3 million and death toll tops 556,500.
