Pakistan has recorded an uptick in the number of daily coronavirus infections as 2,258 were tested positive whereas another 53 people lost their lives during the last 24 hours (Wednesday), showed figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the latest NCOC figures, the daily count of infections which was hovering around 1,500-1,700 has suddenly crossed the 2,200 mark and now the number of total confirmed cases in Pakistan stood at 597,497 after adding 2,258 new infections. The death toll has surged to 13,377 after adding 53 new fatalities.

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), 1,277 patients have recovered from the Covid-19 while the number of total recoveries now stood at 566,493. The total count of active cases across Pakistan was 17,628.

As many as 260,406 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 180,944 in Punjab, 74,722 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 46,579 in Islamabad, 19,157 in Balochistan, 10,730 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 4,959 in Gilgit Baltistan.

As many as 5,662 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,448 in Sindh, 2,129 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 516 in Islamabad, 316 in Azad Kashmir, 202 in Balochistan and 104 in Gilgit Baltistan.

A total of 42,164 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) while 9,360,202 samples have been tested so far.

On Wednesday, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced to close all educational institutions in Islamabad and seven cities of Punjab amid rising coronavirus cases.

Global developments

These are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Biden stimulus on way -

US President Joe Biden's massive Covid relief plan is on the verge of clearing Congress, pumping $1.9 trillion into the pandemic-battered economy.

- Italians lose a year -

Average life expectancy in Italy has been cut by almost one year by the virus, its national statistics office says.

In its hard-hit northern Lombardy region it fell from 83.7 years to 81.2 years. 

- Pfizer for EU hotspots -

The EU will get an extra four million BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine doses over the next two weeks for Covid-19 "hotspots", European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says.

- Poland surge -

Poland reports 17,260 new cases over the past 24 hours -- a record for this year, which the health ministry blames on the spread of the British strain and "increased looseness" among Poles over restrictions.

- Zara loses shirt -

Spanish textile giant Inditex, the owner of fashion retailer Zara, says profits plunged by 70 percent in 2020 to 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).

- Essential culture -

French protesters occupy three national theatres to demand an end to the ban on cultural activities as frustration with closures grows.

- Mauritius lockdown -

The Indian Ocean nation goes into a two-week nationwide lockdown for the second time since the start of the pandemic.

- Cathay crisis -

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific says it suffered a record $2.8 billion loss last year and warns of a long road to recovery despite vaccines.

- Back to school in LA -

Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles children could return to their classrooms next month as the country's second-largest school district lags behind the rest of the US.

- Factory boom -

Prices in Chinese factories rise in February at the fastest pace in more than two years, official data shows, as the country's vast industrial sector recovers from a virus-induced slump.

- Lonely Olympians -

The families of athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics could be barred from entering Japan to watch them, the Games president suggests in an interview with local media.

- Silent summer -

Seven of the most renowned German and Swiss summer music festivals have been cancelled for the second year in a row due to the pandemic.

- 2.6 million dead -

At least 2,611,162 people have died of coronavirus around the world since the outbreak began in December 2019, an AFP tally from official sources showed on Wednesday. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 527,699 deaths followed by Brazil (268,370), Mexico (191,789), India (158,063) and Britain (124,797).

 

With inputs from AFP.