Pakistan has registered another seven deaths and 357 infections from coronavirus during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning.

As per the NCOC data, after the addition of seven new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 28,870 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,290,848 after adding the fresh 357 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Friday), a total of 47,903 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.74 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 666.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1472025079072624643

During the last 24 hours (Friday), as many as 239 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,252,396. As of Saturday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 9,582.

As many as 478,942 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 444,119 in Punjab, 180,938 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 108,240 in Islamabad, 33,548 in Balochistan, 34,633 in Azad Kashmir and 10,428 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,057 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,649 in Sindh, 5,907 in KP, 963 in Islamabad, 745 in Azad Kashmir, 363 in Balochistan and 186 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- WHO approves Indian vaccine -

The World Health Organization grants emergency approval to the Indian Covid vaccine Covovax, saying it aims by the listing to "increase access particularly in lower-income countries."

- Third consecutive UK record -

The British government reports 93,045 new coronavirus cases, a third consecutive record daily tally, as the Omicron Covid variant fuels a surge in infections.

- Midnight deadline in France -

Passengers rush to beat a midnight deadline for travel to and from Britain and France, before France bans non-essential travel between both countries to contain rampant Omicron infections.

- Denmark, France high-risk zones -

Germany designates France and Denmark as high-risk zones for the transmission of coronavirus and imposes quarantine on unvaccinated travellers from the two from Sunday.

- Omicron to be dominant strain -

French Prime Minister Jean Castex says the Omicron variant will be the dominant strain of coronavirus in France from the start of 2022, comparing its spread in Europe to "lightning".

- Irish curfew for hospitality -

Bars and restaurants in Ireland will close from 8:00 pm from Sunday until January 30 in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, prime minister Micheal Martin announces.

- Denmark shuts down culture -

Denmark, which this week had the highest per capita new Covid infection rate, announces it will close cinemas, theatres and concert halls and restrict restaurant opening hours.

- Swiss curbs on unvaccinated -

Switzerland will step up anti-Covid measures from Monday with a return to working from home and curbs on the unvaccinated, as the country battles an intense fifth wave of the virus.

- 335 million US doses donated -

The United States has so far delivered more than 335 million doses of Covid vaccine to 110 countries, a figure matching the US population, the White House tells AFP.

- Canada lifts Africa ban -

Canada announces the lifting of a ban on foreign travellers from 10 African countries from 0459 GMT Sunday, while reimposing testing.

- Johnson on the ropes -

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes "personal responsibility," after suffering a crushing by-election defeat in a constituency never previously lost by his party as virus scandals swirl around Downing Street.

- Bolsonaro accused -

Employees at Brazil's federal health regulator accuse President Jair Bolsonaro of making "fascist" threats, after the far-right leader said he wanted the names revealed of those who approved Covid-19 vaccines for children.

- UK-France rugby ties off -

This weekend's European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup matches between clubs from the UK and France are postponed due to strict coronavirus travel rules.

- Over 5.3 million dead - 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,335,968 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP Friday. 

The US has suffered the most Covid-related deaths with 803,652, followed by Brazil with 617,395, India with 476,869 and Mexico with 297,356.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.

With inputs from AFP.