The coronavirus claimed another 10 lives during the past 24 hours (Wednesday), raising the death toll in Pakistan to 6,702, reported the National Command and Operation Centre on Thursday morning.

Earlier, the country had witnessed 19 deaths – most of these in Punjab – on the previous day which was the highest single-day tally since August 8 when 21 people died of the virus.

On Wednesday, the virus was detected in 736 people. It means a total of 325,480 cases has so far been reported in the country since the pandemic outbreak.

The region-wise distribution of these cases is: Sindh 142,641, Punjab 102,107, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 38,810, Islamabad 18,438, Balochistan 15,738, Gilgit-Baltistan 4,107 and Azad Kashmir 3,639.

Like the past days, most of the cases were recorded in Sindh and Islamabad followed by Punjab and Azad Kashmir. 

As far as the active cases are concerned, the country currently has 9,642 coronavirus patients, representing a slight increase when compared with the past day.

There are 735 patients in hospitals with 591 stated to be in a critical condition. Meanwhile, 91 of those being treated in intensive care units have been placed on ventilators.

On the other hand, 462 coronavirus patients fully recovered from the infection on Wednesday, raising the number of recoveries to 309,136. Hence, a total of 315,838 cases have so far closed [deaths + number of people recovering from infection] in the country.

Meanwhile, 28,534 tests were administered across the country on Tuesday after which their overall number has reached 4,177,270. 

Germany reports record new virus cases
Germany recorded 11,287 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, a sharp jump from the previous day and a record for the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official data Thursday.

The figure far exceeds the next highest total of 7,830 recorded last Friday, and is a steep jump from the 7,595 cases reported on Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute.

A press conference was expected later Thursday morning, the institute announced.

Germany, like many European countries, has been facing a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases for several weeks.

Faced with the rebound, authorities have toughened anti-pandemic measures, such as banning large gatherings.

Local restrictions have also been imposed -- in Berlin, it is now compulsory to wear a mask on certain busy streets.

On Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel asked citizens to cut down on socialising, encouraging them to stay at home instead.

"What winter will be, what our Christmas will be, will be decided in the days and weeks to come," she warned.

The country, hailed for its management of the first wave of the virus earlier this year, has in recent days broken several records for new infections in 24 hours.

At least 380,762 people have been infected in Germany so far, with 9,875 deaths reported.

With inputs from AFP