Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 975,092 on Monday after 1,808 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country during the last 24 hours.
Overall 347,478 cases were confirmed in Sindh, 348,309 in Punjab, 139,463 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 27,994 in Balochistan, 83,764 in Islamabad, 6,904 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 21,180 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
As per the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, 47,015 tests were conducted in last 24 hours while positivity ratio remained 3.84%.
According to the government's COVID-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached to 22,597 with 15 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, total number of recovered COVID-19 patients across the country reached 913,873 after another 670 virus recoveries were reported.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Health Services (MONHS) has asked the people to strictly follow COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of disease in the country.
According to an official of the ministry, due to negligence of citizens in the implementation of SOPS, there are reports of an increase of coronavirus cases in some cities including the federal capital.
The official said the government is once again taking strict measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus infection in the country.
He added that with the increase in the number of coronavirus infections, the number of patients in the hospitals has also increased.
Moreover, Planning Minister Asad Umar on Sunday said 20.6% of people above the age of 50 in Pakistan have been administered at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.
The head of the (NCOC) elaborated that there are 20.7 million people in the country who are 50 years of age or older, and out of those, 5.6 million people have received the first anti-COVID jab.
The minister urged the people to encourage those in the age group to vaccinate as soon as possible as this "age group is most vulnerable to serious health effects of COVID".
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 187.648 million and death toll tops 4,049,374.
