Pakistan has logged a sharp rise in coronavirus cases as another 98 patients have died of the novel virus during the past 24 hours (Wednesday) while 4,974 new cases were recorded, showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the NCOC statistics, after the addition of 98 fatalities the death toll has now surged to 14,530 whereas the number of total confirmed cases stood at 672,931, after adding the 4,974 new ones.

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), 2,148 patients have recovered from the deadly virus while the number of total recoveries stood at 605,274. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 53,127 while the positivity rate stood at 9.93 percent.

As many as 265,680 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 223,181 in Punjab, 88,099 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 58,557 in Islamabad, 19,576 in Balochistan, 12,805 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,033 in Gilgit Baltistan.

As many as 6,427 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,502 in Sindh, 2,363 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 572 in Islamabad, 355 in Azad Kashmir, 208 in Balochistan and 103 in Gilgit Baltistan.

A total of 50,055 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) while 10,247,37 samples have so far been tested.

Punjab: Authorities reported 62 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,427. The province now has 223,181 confirmed cases; it reported 2,789 new infections after conducting 22,624 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.33 percent. There were 1,294 new recoveries recorded, leaving 189,856 fully recovered, and 26,898 active cases of the virus.

Sindh: Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 265,680; it reported 247 new infections on Thursday after conducting 9,634 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.56 percent. The province reported 5 new deaths, raising toll to 4,502, while its recoveries rose by 224 to 256,276. Overall, the province now has 4,902 active cases of the novel coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), the provincial government recorded 1,044 new infections after conducting 8,672 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.04 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 88,099. It recorded 21 new deaths, raising toll to 2,363, while its recoveries have risen by 408 to 76,640. There are currently 9,096 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 19,576 with 19 new infections after conducting 367 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.2 percent. There was 1 death and 16 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 208 fatalities and 19,106 fully recovered. There are now 262 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 724 to 58,557 after conducting 7,564 tests; a positivity ratio of 9.57 percent. There were 4 deaths and 126 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 572 casualties; 47,584 recovered; and 10,401 active cases.

Gilgit Baltistan: Gilgit Baltistan reported nine new cases of the novel coronavirus after conducting 312 tests; it now has 5,033 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,867 fully recovered people. There are currently 63 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.

Azad Kashmir: In Azad Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 142 to 12,805 after conducting 882 tests, a positivity ratio of 16.09 percent. There were 3 deaths and 80 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 355 fatalities and 10,945 fully recovered. It now has 1,505 active cases of COVID-19.

Global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Macron extends restrictions -

French President Emmanuel Macron announces the extension of limited restrictions already in place in parts of France to the whole of the country from Saturday.

Schools will also close for three weeks from next week, although two of those weeks are already a Spring holiday.

- 100 percent effective -

BioNTech-Pfizer say their vaccine shows 100 percent efficacy in 12- to 15-year-olds as they eye getting approval of the jabs for teenagers before the next school year.

- More data needed -

WHO vaccine experts say an interim analysis of clinical trial data from two Chinese vaccines produced by Sinovac and Sinopharm show they are safe and have "good efficacy" but that data is lacking for older age groups and people with medical conditions.

- AstraZeneca boost -

EU drug regulators probing links between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots have found no specific risk factors but are investigating further after several countries stopped giving it to younger people.

- Lab leak theory -

China slams "unethical" critics as it faces mounting pressure over the origins of Covid-19, after the World Health Organization chief revived the theory that the virus may have leaked from a Chinese lab.

- Animal vaccine -

Russia announces what it says is the world's first Covid vaccine for animals claiming it will help stem mutations. Mass production could begin in April.

- Yemen relief -

War-torn Yemen receives its first shipment of 360,000 vaccine doses via the global Covax initiative. The doses are among the 1.9 million that the nation of 30 million people is so far likely to receive.

- Gaping gender gap -

The pandemic has rolled back years of progress towards gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum, potentially adding more than three decades to the fight for parity.

- China cluster -

A Chinese city near the border with Myanmar imposes a lockdown after six cases are reported -- the first significant cluster disclosed in almost two months.

- On track -

Germany still expects to offer every adult a jab by the end of the summer, Health Minister Jens Spahn says, despite new guidelines against the use of AstraZeneca for under-60s.

- Satellite Oscars -

Next month's pandemic-affected Oscars ceremony will include venues in Britain and France for international nominees unable to travel to Los Angeles, say sources familiar with the plan.

- 2.8 million dead -

At least 2,805,014 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources at 1830 GMT. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 551,118 deaths followed by Brazil with 317,646 fatalities, Mexico with 202,633, India with 162,468 and Britain with 126,713 deaths. 

With inputs from AFP.