ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s coronavirus cases crossed the 76,000 mark on Tuesday, with 3,938 new infections reported in a single day, making it the highest number recorded since February this year, the health ministry said on its official COVID-19 portal.
It added that the death toll had climbed to 1,621 after 78 people lost their lives in the past 24 hours.
“(There were) 29,647 cases diagnosed in Sindh, 27,850 in Punjab, 10,485 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 4,514 in Balochistan, 2,893in Islamabad, 738 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 271 in Azad Kashmir,” the statement said, adding that more than 50,000 people, across the country, had contracted the virus in May alone.
In an address to the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan indicated that more economic sectors, including tourism, should be opened, to minimize the adverse effects of the lockdown which was imposed in late March.
He added that more than 50 million people could not afford two meals in a day if they do not have means to a livelihood.
“We have a totally different situation when compared with other countries like China, the United States and Europe,” he said.
However, he added that the decision to reopen the tourism sector would be taken only after the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan finalized their standard operating procedures to deal with the outbreak.