Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Thursday rose to 192,970 after 4,044 new virus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty four hours.
Overall, 71,191 cases were reported in Punjab, 74,070 in Sindh, , 23,887 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9,817 in Balochistan, 11,710 in Islamabad, 1,365 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 930 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 3,903 with 148 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours while around 81,307 patients have fully recovered from the disease.
Nearly one-and-a-half months after imposing the lockdown across the country, the government announced to ease the lockdown in phases, however, the number of coronavirus cases has continued to soar.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of increasing burden on hospitals and existing health facilities if the people do not follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) seriously.
Talking to volunteers of Corona Relief Tiger Force in Islamabad on Thursday, the premier said it is essential to make common people understand the importance of following precautionary measures.
He said if people follow the SOPs in letter and spirit, the spread of disease could be curtailed.
"Next one month is crucial and if we are able to convince people to adopt maximum precautionary measures, the peak of the disease could pass," the PM said.
He said that the administration is already stretched to their limits and we do not want to put additional pressure on them.
PM Imran said volunteers are very important as they have played an important role in all countries in stemming the tide of the pandemic.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 9.3 million and death toll tops 481,000.
