Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Tuesday rose to 275,225 after about 936 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty-four hours.
Overall, 118,824 cases were reported in Sindh, 92,279 in Punjab, 33,510 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,624 in Balochistan, 14,938 in Islamabad, 2,010 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 2,040 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 5,865 with 23 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 242,436.
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, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that Pakistan is among the few countries that have largely controlled the novel coronavirus pandemic in a short period.
Addressing the media in Islamabad, he said with a continuous declining trend of coronavirus cases in the country, the pressure on hospitals has reduced.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was the first that adopted policy of smart lockdown, which proved successful, PM Imran said, adding that other countries replicated this policy.
"The countries that enforced complete lockdown, such as India, suffered a lot in respect of increase in poverty," the PM noted.
PM Imran warned of another spike in COVID-19 cases if the predetermined standard operating procedures (SOPs) were ignored on the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha and the holy month of Muharram.
He said in case of increase in the cases after Eid and Muharram, the government will have to impose lockdown again, which will negatively affect economy of the country.
The prime minister appealed to people to strictly observe standard operating procedures against Covid-19 during the Eid and Muharram.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 16.5 million and death toll tops 650,000.
