ISLAMABAD: As the world witnesses an uptick of COVID-19 cases, Pakistan reported 1,487 new coronavirus infections on Saturday and recorded 24 deaths caused by the debilitating respiratory disease in the last 24 hours.
According to the information released by the National Command and Operation Center, the country conducted 23,630 tests on July 24, taking their total number to 1,844,926 since it reported the first virus case in the last week of February.
The NCOC claimed that out of the confirmed 271,886 coronavirus cases to date, 236,596 people had already recovered across Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan recently requested people to celebrate the upcoming Eid festival with “simplicity” to prevent a spike in the COVID-19 cases.
Many people ignored social distancing guidelines and flocked to mosques and markets during the last religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan in May— helping fuel a subsequent surge in virus infections across Pakistan.
Until recently, the disease was said to be on the rise in the country, prompting the World Health Organization to recommend another phase of lockdown.
However, the federal government did not fully take up the advice of the global health agency, though it implemented “smart lockdowns” by imposing restriction in different virus hotspots in Pakistan to curb the spread of the infectious respiratory illness.
The government is also criticized for reducing the number of tests in recent days, as its critics challenge the official statistics on the disease.
Yet, the authorities maintain that the COVID-19 curve is gradually flattening, though they also urge people not to abandon precautionary measures since it can lead to another surge in virus infections.
