Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Thursday rose to 6,861.
At least 3,232 cases reported in Punjab, 2,008 in Sindh, 912 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 281 in Balochistan, 237 in Gilgit Baltistan, 145 in Islamabad, and 46 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the National Command and Control Centre, the death toll related to COVID-19 has reached 128, while at least 1,642 patients have fully recovered.
The number of coronavirus cases have continued to soar despite the country being under a lockdown for the fourth consecutive week. The nation-wide lockdown has now been extended by two more weeks, till April 30.
However, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said the industries that are being opened include export sector, chemical manufacturing plants, e-commerce, software development and planning, paper and packaging units, industries with labor on site, cement and fertilizer plants, mines and minerals, plant nurseries, agricultural machinery plants, glass manufacturing plants, veterinary services and bookshops.
The agriculture sector will also remain open due to upcoming harvesting of wheat.
The worldwide number of officially confirmed fatalities from the novel coronavirus now stands at above 136,000.
More than 2 million declared cases have been registered in 200 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 500,000 are now considered recovered.