As Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Covid-19 on Friday (today) to review the pandemic situation and devise a future strategy, Pakistan has recorded 144 more deaths and 5,870 infections during the past 24 hours (Thursday), showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Friday morning.

As per the NCOC statistics, after the addition of 144 new deaths the countrywide toll has now jumped to 16,842 whereas the number of positive cases has surged to 784,108. 

As usual, Punjab remained the worst-hit province by the pandemic both in terms of cases as well as deaths followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

So far, 282,469 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 275,815 in Sindh, 110,875 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21,365 in Balochistan, 72,150 in Islamabad, 16,193 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,241 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Furthermore, 7,799 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,576 in Sindh, 3,029 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 227 in Balochistan, 652 in Islamabad, 455 in Azad Kashmir and 104 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 11,431,241 coronavirus tests and 53,818 during the last 24 hours (Thursday). As many as 682,290 coronavirus patients have recovered whereas 4,652 patients were in critical condition.

Punjab: Authorities reported 81 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 7,799. The province now has 282,469 confirmed cases; it reported 3,032 new infections after conducting 26,091 tests, a positivity ratio of 11.62 percent. There were 3,652 new recoveries recorded, leaving 230,032 fully recovered, and 44,638 active cases of the virus.

Sindh: Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 275,815; it reported 734 new infections after conducting 12,659 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.8 percent. The province reported 14 new deaths, raising toll to 4,576, while its recoveries rose by 244 to 261,542. Overall, the province now has 9,697 active cases of the novel coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Thursday), the provincial government recorded 1,171 new infections after conducting 7,729 tests, a positivity ratio of 15.15 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 110,875. It recorded 39 new deaths and 1,043 recoveries, raising toll to 3,029 and recoveries to 93,730. There are currently 14,116 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 21,365 with 123 new infections after conducting 1,135 tests, a positivity ratio of 10.84 percent. There was 1 death and 78 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 227 fatalities and 20,035 fully recovered. There are now 1,103 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 617 to 72,150 after conducting 4,713 tests; a positivity ratio of 13.09 percent. There were 3 deaths and 506 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 652 casualties; 58,485 recovered; and 13,013 active cases.

GB: Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 26 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 391 tests, a positivity ratio of 6.65 percent; it now has 5,241 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 7 recoveries, leaving 104 fatalities and 5,008 fully recovered people. There are currently 129 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.

AJK: In Azad Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 167 to 16,193 after conducting 1,100 tests, a positivity ratio of 15.18 percent. There were 6 deaths and 155 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 455 fatalities and 13,458 fully recovered. It now has 2,280 active cases of COVID-19.

Global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Peak passed in France -

The peak of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in France "appears to be behind us", Prime Minister Jean Castex says, with travel restrictions to be relaxed from May 3.

- German jabs -

Germany is expecting to open up Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults in June at the latest, Health Minister Jens Spahn says.

- Germany seeks Sputnik V -

Germany is in talks with Russia to buy 30 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer says after talks with President Vladimir Putin.

- EU to sue AstraZeneca? -

The European Commission is seeking to launch legal action against AstraZeneca for under delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses to the EU, hobbling the bloc's early rollout of jabs, diplomats say.

- Cheap money -

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde underlines its commitment to cheap money as the eurozone is still tightly in the grip of a pandemic that has left the region's economic outlook "clouded by uncertainties".

- Virus reaches Everest -

A Norwegian climber hoping to summit Everest says that he has tested positive for Covid-19, in a blow to Nepal's hopes for a bumper mountaineering season.

- Torch relay case -

Tokyo Olympics organisers report the first infection from the nationwide torch relay as the pandemic continues to play havoc with the Games, which are scheduled to take place this summer.

- UAE suspends India flights -

The United Arab Emirates suspends all flights from India, including transit passengers, as coronavirus cases in the country spike to global records.

- Norway lends AstraZeneca -

Norway, which has suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine until further notice, will send 216,000 doses to Sweden and Iceland at their request, its health ministry says.

- US jobless down -

New filings for US unemployment benefits declined again last week, hitting their lowest level since the pandemic began, the Labor Department says.

- Jaguar cuts production -

Britain's largest car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover says it will next week suspend production at two of its three UK plants as the pandemic has caused a supply crunch in semiconductors.

- Sputnik V in Middle East -

Egyptian firm Minapharm says it will produce 40 million doses of Sputnik V, in the first partnership for the production of the Russian jab in the Middle East and North Africa.

- Underwear protest -

Lingerie retailers in France are protesting their closure during lockdown by sending underwear to Prime Minister Castex along with requests they be classed as essential businesses.

- More than three million dead -

At least 3,060,859 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 569,404 deaths, followed by Brazil with 381,475, Mexico with 213,597, India with 184,657 and Britain with 127,327. 

With inputs from AFP.