Another 46 people lost their lives to the coronavirus whereas 1,038 fresh cases were reported across Pakistan during the last 24 hours (Tuesday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday morning.

As per the latest NCOC figures, after the addition of 46 more deaths, the toll has now soared to 21,828 whereas the number of confirmed cases stood now at 944,065.

During the past 24 hours (Tuesday), 2,016 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 882,332.

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As of Wednesday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 39,905, whereas the positivity rate was dropped to 2.46 percent.

As many as 329,279 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 344,379 in Punjab, 136,313 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82,207 in Islamabad, 26,331 in Balochistan, 19,822 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,734 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Moreover, 10,567 individuals have so far lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab 5,273 in Sindh, 4,240 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 773 in Islamabad, 570 in Azad Kashmir, 297 in Balochistan and 108 in Gilgit Baltistan.

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The health facilities across the country conducted 42,113 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of Covid-19 tests to 13,934,402 since the first case was reported early last year.

In a bid to help inoculate people who need to travel foreign, the federal government Tuesday revised guidelines for the AstraZeneca vaccine and allowed citizens who are 18 or older to get the jab.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- US toll tops 600,000 -

The US death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic surpasses 600,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, with President Joe Biden mourning the latest "sad milestone" and urging Americans to press on with vaccinations.

- New York lifts curbs -

More than 70 percent of adults in New York have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, meaning the last of the state's restrictions can now be lifted, Governor Andrew Cuomo announces.

- AstraZeneca snag -

Covid-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca reveals it has hit a setback in phase 3 clinical trials of a drug for coronavirus symptoms.

Treatment AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptoms by only 33 percent -- which was "not statistically significant", it says.

- French jabs for adolescents - 

France expands its Covid-19 inoculation drive to children aged 12 and over in a bid to achieve herd immunity and slow the spread of variants, including the Delta strain.

- EMA denial -

The European Medicines Agency denies that a top official had suggested dropping the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, saying that he had been misinterpreted in an interview and believed its benefits outweighed its risks.

Marco Cavaleri, the EMA's head of vaccine strategy, was quoted by Italian newspaper La Stampa on Sunday as saying it could be worth dropping AstraZeneca including for the over-60s in favour of rivals like Pfizer and Moderna.

- Olympics rule warning -

Athletes could be kicked out of the Tokyo Olympics if they violate virus rules including daily testing and mask-wearing under updated guidelines just over five weeks before the opening ceremony.

- 3.8 million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 3,813,994 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with more than 600,000 deaths, followed according to figures at 1000 GMT by Brazil with 488,228, India with 377,031, Mexico with 230,187, Peru with 188,921 and the United Kingdom with 127,907.

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.