Lahore/Quetta/Karachi/Peshawar (Staff Report/Agencies): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Wednesday rose to 276,288 after about 1,063 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty four hours.
Overall, 119,398 cases were reported in Sindh, 92,452 in Punjab, 33,724 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,654 in Balochistan, 14,963 in Islamabad, 2,042 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 2,055 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 5,892 with 27 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 244,883.
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 National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza has said that the government is working to ensure provision of essential health services across the country with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Chairing an online meeting with representatives of WHO and UNICEF, he said the immunization campaign against polio has already resumed in a number of high-risk districts of the country.
Dr Zafar Mirza said everyone in Pakistan has a role to play to protect themselves and their loved ones from coronavirus and to avoid a repetition of spike in its transmission.
The UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Ms Aida Girma said we are now at a crucial stage of our joint fight against the COVID-19.
The WHO Representative in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala appreciated the efforts by Government of Pakistan to resume provision of essential health care services in context of COVID-19 with support of all partners.
It is pertinent to mention that the global coronavirus cases have reportedly surpassed 16.7 million and death toll tops 659,000.
