The number of coronavirus cases and the positivity rate in Pakistan are on the decline as the country reported 71 deaths and 1,771 infections during the last 24 hours, showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday morning.

As per the latest NCOC data, the number of positive cases has now surged to 922,824 after adding the 1,771 new ones whereas the nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 20,850 after adding 71 deaths.

During the past 24 hours, 3,397 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 844,638.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1399553091826032644

As of Tuesday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 57,336, while the positivity rate was dropped to 3.71 percent.

As many as 318,579 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 340,110 in Punjab, 132,822 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 81,257 in Islamabad, 25,218 in Balochistan, 19,250 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,588 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Moreover, 10,039 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 5,039 in Sindh, 4,079 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 762 in Islamabad, 544 in Azad Kashmir, 280 in Balochistan and 107 in Gilgit Baltistan.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1399586971484405761

The health facilities across the country conducted 47,633 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of Covid-19 tests to 13,269,21 since the first case was reported early last year.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Jabs for all French adults -

France opens up vaccines to all adults a week before Germany, as Europe races to avoid another wave of infections caused by new Covid-19 variants.

- Vietnam suspends flights -

The international airport of Vietnam's capital will suspend inbound flights from abroad beginning Tuesday, after Covid-19 cases more than doubled in the past month.

- Denmark thinks again -

Denmark's government asks its health authority to reconsider rulings against using the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines -- dropped over concerns about rare, but severe cases of blood clots -- after struggling to keep its vaccination drive on schedule.

- Boosting the WHO -

The World Health Organization's members agree to strengthen the global body and give it more secure and flexible funding to "rapidly and appropriately assess disease outbreaks" of possible global concern.

- Indian economy plunges -

India's economy contracted 7.3 percent in 2020-21, its worst recession since independence as coronavirus lockdowns put millions out of work.

- Copa moved to Brazil -

South America's largest football tournament, the Copa America, is moved to Brazil after a Covid-19 surge in Argentina and social unrest in Colombia saw the co-hosts stripped of the right to host the event.

- Vaccines for Burkina Faso -

Burkina Faso, one of the few nations in West Africa still to launch a vaccination drive, receives a first batch of 115,200 doses, funded by the international Covax scheme.

- First overseas competitors -

Australia's softball team flies out to Japan, where they will become the first overseas competitors to arrive for the coronavirus-plagued Tokyo Olympics.

- 3.5 million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 3,544,101 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data at 1830 GMT. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 594,461 deaths, followed by Brazil with 461,931, India with 329,100, Mexico with 223,507 and Britain with 127,782.

The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies. 

The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.

With inputs from AFP.