ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday reported a total of 261,845 coronavirus infections, while the number of recoveries from the virus stood at 204,276, data released by the Health Ministry showed.
However, the overall death toll reached 5,568 cases after 46 new fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
According to official statistics, Pakistan has conducted more than 1.7 million tests so far, with the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) – the highest forum for anti-coronavirus efforts – asking provincial governments to ensure a strict implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) during the upcoming Eid Al-Adha festival and the holy month of Muharram-ul-Haram.
Following a special NCOC meeting held in Karachi on Saturday, Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar reported a decline in COVID-19 related deaths, adding that a drop in cases did not mean that the “pandemic was over” or that people could “start avoiding safety protocols.”
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the public to celebrate Eid Al-Adha with “simplicity” to avert a spike in new coronavirus cases.
“I urge the nation to continue observing SOPs essential to sustain our positive trend. Eid ul Azha must be celebrated with simplicity so as not to repeat what happened last Eid when SOPs were ignored & our hospitals were choked. I am ordering strict implementation of govt SOPs,” he had posted on Twitter.
