ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 5,857 new coronavirus infections, raising the countrywide tally to 778,238 with a positivity rate of 10.16%, and 98 deaths in the past 24 hours.
According to the data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday, 57,591 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, from which 5,857 tests returned positive.
About 98 more succumbed to COVID-19, taking the countrywide tally to 16,698.
In a provincial breakdown, Sindh has reported 275,081 cases, Punjab 279,437, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 109,704, Islamabad 71,533, Balochistan 21,242, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 16,026, and Gilgit Baltistan 5,215 since the start of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, NCOC head and Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the government will have to impose a lockdown in major cities if the current trajectory of coronavirus infections continues in Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters after the NCOC meeting, Umar had said that the coronavirus situation in Pakistan was “extremely serious”. “Take care of yourself and your fellow Pakistanis. The situation needs to be taken seriously.”
He had said that the NCOC had taken a decision on the imposition of more restrictions that would be shared with the provinces, adding that the new restrictions will be announced on Friday.
He had urged the people to realise the gravity of the situation, saying if the government would have no choice but to shut down the major cities if the virus continued to spread at the current pace
