With another 119 people losing their lives, the past 24 hours (Saturday) saw number of coronavirus cases falling below 5,000 in Pakistan after peaking during the last few days.
The latest figures released by National Command and Operation Centre on Sunday morning showed that 4,951 more people fell prey to the Covid-19 on Saturday taking the total tally to 176,617. As many as 119 more deaths also took the total death toll to 3,501.
The virus casualties saw peak cases and deaths in the last few days with record 6,604 infections and record 153 deaths reported on Friday.
Most of these latest deaths were again reported in Punjab where the number of people dying of the coronavirus has climbed to 1,407 after the addition of 60 during the 24-hour period.
The number of coronavirus cases, on the other hand, reached 65,739 during the same period as 1,523 more people were diagnosed with the infection.
Amid the alarming spread of the coronavirus, the situation in Lahore is worsening with the healthcare system being overburdened as 24NewsHD TV channel reported that only 26 ICU (intensive care unit) beds are currently vacant in the state-run hospitals of the city.
The critical care beds available in the government-run health facilities on Friday were: Ganga Ram Hospital 10, Mayo Hospital six, PKLI (Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute) five and Nawaz Sharif Hospital Yaki Gate five.
But it was Sindh where most of the new cases were recorded during the past 24 hours with overall number climbing to 67,353 as 2,190 people were tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, the number of deaths officially confirmed in the province has reached 1,048 with another 35 patients dying after getting infected.
The figures for the other provinces/administrative units are: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 21,444 cases and 808 deaths, Islamabad 10,662 cases and 98 deaths, Balochistan 9,328 cases and 100 deaths, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,278 cases and 21 deaths, and Azad Kashmir 813 cases and 19 deaths.
On the other hand, another 28,851 tests were carried out in different parts of the country during the past 24 hours after which the overall number increased to 10,71,642. It means the ratio of coronavirus tests conducted in Pakistan currently stands at about 4,724 per million (population).
Meanwhile, the number of active cases in Pakistan has jumped to 105,224 with the rest being closed – people fully recovering from the infection (67,892) + death toll (3,501).
At the current rate, Pakistan is going to surpass 200,000 coronavirus cases within next few days, leaving behind Germany in the process after upstaging France earlier in the week.