ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported more than 700 coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the first time in over a month, government data shows.

The spread of the novel coronavirus has lately been showing a downward trend in Pakistan, with infections and deaths down by about 90 percent since July.

On Friday, the government’s coronavirus portal showed that 752 new cases of the virus were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 304,386. There have been 6,408 coronavirus deaths in Pakistan so far.

The last time the country recorded more than 700 cases was on August 12 when 711 cases were reported over 24 hours.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended Pakistan increase daily testing to above 50,000, but after peaking at around 30,000 tests in June, the South Asian nation has been testing only a handful of thousand people daily since.

With a large population, a health care system in shambles and widespread poverty, Pakistan was considered to be at high risk of a catastrophic toll from coronavirus. But since June, virus cases have steadily fallen and with around just over 6,000 coronavirus deaths in a population of approximately 230 million people, Pakistan appears to have fared far better than most Western countries and neighboring India.

Life in Pakistan has also largely gotten back to normal, with shops, schools and universities, as well as marriage halls, having been allowed to reopen.