Another 108 people lost their lives to the coronavirus whereas 4,198 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) throughout Pakistan, showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the latest NCOC figures, after the addition of 108 new deaths, the toll has now surged to 18,537 while the number of confirmed cases stood at 845,833, after adding the 4,198 new infections.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1390078710938808321

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), 4,397 patients have recovered from the virus while the total recoveries stood at 743,124. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 84,172, and the positivity rate recorded at 9.03 percent.

As many as 288,680 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 312,522 in Punjab, 121,728 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 77,065 in Islamabad, 22,900 in Balochistan, 17,583 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,355 in Gilgit Baltistan.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1390158312151322628

Moreover, 8,809 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,691 in Sindh, 3,497 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 699 in Islamabad, 494 in Azad Kashmir, 240 in Balochistan and 107 in Gilgit Baltistan.

The health facilities across the country conducted 46,467 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of Covid-19 tests to 12,056,98 since the first case was reported.

Punjab: Authorities reported 68 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 8,809. The province now has 312,522 confirmed cases; it reported 1,906 new infections. There were 2,314 new recoveries recorded, leaving 262,555 fully recovered, and 41,158 active cases of the virus.

Sindh: Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 288,680; it reported 1,038 new infections. The province reported 4 deaths, raising toll to 4,691, while its recoveries rose by 330 to 266,718. Overall, the province now has 17,271 active cases of the novel coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), the provincial government recorded 629 new infections. Overall, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 121,728. It recorded 31 new deaths and 813 recoveries, raising toll to 3,497 and recoveries to 107,370. There are currently 10,861 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 22,900 with 124 new infections. There was 1 death and 116 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 240 fatalities and 21,266 fully recovered. There are now 1,394 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 369 to 77,065. There was 1 death and 648 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 699 casualties; 65,069 recovered; and 11,297 active cases.

GB: Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19; it now has 5,355 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 21 recoveries, leaving 107 fatalities and 5,135 fully recovered people. There are currently 113 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.

AJK: In Azad Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 118 to 17,583. There were 3 deaths and 155 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 494 fatalities and 15,011 fully recovered. It now has 2,078 active cases of COVID-19.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- India pledges billions -

India releases $6.7 billion in cheap financing for vaccine makers, hospitals and other health firms in a bid to dig its way out of its disastrous outbreak.

More than 3,780 people died in the last 24 hours, although experts believe that this is probably an underestimate.

- Cash for vax -

Serbia will pay people 25 euros ($25) each if they get a jab by the end of the month after its vaccination drive started to stall. Some 1.5 million of its seven million people have had shots.

- Pfizer gets OK for teens -

Canada becomes the first country in the world to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 years and over.

- Egypt calls off Eid parties -

Egypt calls off festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr and partially closes cafes, restaurants and malls as the Ramadan month of fasting ends. 

- G7 talks vaccines -

The seven wealthiest democracies discuss vaccines on their last day of talks in London as they face pressure to share stockpiles and know-how with poor nations. 

India's foreign minister had to abandon face-to-face talks because he may have been exposed to the virus.

- India strain spreads -

Iran and Kenya report their first cases of the highly contagious Indian variant of the virus.

- Anti-lockdown Madrid -

Right-winger Isabel Diaz Ayuso wins a resounding victory in regional elections in the Spanish capital. The hardliner has soared in popularity for stubbornly resisting virus restrictions.

- Ex-minister criticises Bolsonaro -

Brazil's former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta tells a Senate inquiry that President Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly ignored warnings that his response to the pandemic risked causing the country's health system to collapse.

- Paris says merci with passports -

France grants citizenship to over 2,000 foreign-born frontline workers for helping in the country's fight against Covid.

- Oz travel ban challenge -

An Australian court agrees to hear a challenge to the country's controversial ban on citizens returning home from India which threatens them with jail and heavy fines.

- Be prepared -

Britain is spending £29.3 million ($40.6 million, 33.8 million euros) on new vaccine laboratories in an effort to "future-proof the country from the threat of new variants".

- Homeworking -

Facebook's Workplace software that offers companies an internal social network has grown by about 40 percent in a year as the pandemic accelerates remote working, though it still trails behind rivals like Microsoft's Teams.

- Over 3.2 million dead -

The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 3,230,058 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 578,500 deaths, followed by Brazil with 411,588, India 226,188, Mexico 217,740 and Britain 127,543. 

With inputs from AFP.