ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday recorded 59 deaths from the coronavirus disease, the highest single-day fatality count recorded since July 15, with authorities linking the uptick in numbers to a second wave of the deadly outbreak across the country.
According to the health ministry's COVID-19 portal, 2,665 people had tested positive for the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the national caseload to 374,173 infections and 7,662 deaths since the outbreak was first reported in March.
In Karachi, officials began imposing smart lockdowns in four "high-risk" areas of the city – namely the South District, West District, Korangi District and Central District – after more than 850 people tested positive for the disease on Saturday night.
The lockdown measures include a restriction on the movement of residents in the COVID-19 hotspots, in addition to a ban on gatherings at home.
For the past several weeks, authorities have been sounding the alarm over a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier this week, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which leads the anti-COVID-19 efforts in the country, had made it mandatory for residents to wear masks in public places – failing which they would be fined – and ordered all business centers, wedding halls, eateries and shopping centers to close shop by 10 pm.
The surge in infections follows Pakistan's move to ease restrictions on May 9, ahead of the Eid Al-Fitr festivities which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and is celebrated with congregational prayers, family gatherings and feasting.
The country’s transportation sector and most businesses were reopened, though cinemas, theaters and schools remained closed.
More recently, however, the government warned that there was an uptick in infection numbers, telling people to take precautionary measures and announcing that Pakistan was witnessing the second wave of the pandemic which could prove more lethal than the first one.
