Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Thursday rose to 269,191 after about 1,763 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty-four hours.
Overall, 115,213 cases were reported in Sindh, 91,129 in Punjab, 32,753 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,517 in Balochistan, 14,722 in Islamabad, 1,896 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 1,961 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 5,709 with 32 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
The National Command and Operation Center’s (NCOC) data shows that there has been an improvement in the number of recoveries from COVID-19 in the country with figure now reaching 213,175.
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, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said it is unlikely that a vaccine will become available anytime soon.
In a tweet on Thursday, the SAPM said there have been over 150 vaccine initiatives across the globe and at least 12 are in their advanced stages.
"It is unlikely that a vaccine will become available anytime soon, not in this year at least it seems," he said.
Dr Zafar Mirza said Pakistan has formed a National Vaccine Taskforce, which will develop and execute a strategy to ensure early and reliable access to a Covid-19 vaccine in Pakistan.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan called on the international community for a 'people's vaccine' against COVID-19.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 15.25 million and death toll tops 625,000.
