Coronavirus death toll tops 14,000 in Pakistan

The coronavirus death toll in Pakistan has crossed 14,000-mark as the country reported 63 more fatalities during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) whereas the number of positive cases has now surged to 640,988, showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning. 

With the addition of 63 new deaths, the nationwide tally of fatalities has now jumped to 14,028.

As per the NCOC figures, 3,946 people were tested positive for Covid-19 during the past 24 hours (Wednesday).

As usual, Sindh remained the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Most numbers of casualties have been reported in Punjab.

So far, 263,815 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 205,314 in Punjab, 81,787 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19,395 in Balochistan, 53,684 in Islamabad, 12,016 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 4,977 in Gilgit Baltistan.

As many as 6,099 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,482 in Sindh, 2,246 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 205 in Balochistan, 554 in Islamabad, 339 in Azad Kashmir and 103 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 9,934,373 coronavirus tests and 38,858 during the last 24 hours (Wednesday).

As many as 588,975 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 2,587 patients were in critical condition. 

Global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- EU tightens vaccine exports -

The European Union tightened its rules on Covid-19 vaccine exports, making authorisations contingent on destination countries behaving "fairly" in return -- particularly vaccine-producing ones.

- Finland, Iceland OK AstraZeneca jab for seniors -

Finland and Iceland announced their senior citizens will again be able to have the AstraZeneca vaccination against Covid-19, after halting the jabs over blood clot fears.

- Merkel says 'my mistake' -

German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted a failed Easter virus shutdown plan was "my mistake" and asked the public to forgive her, in a rare climbdown over massive criticism of the government's pandemic response.

- Belgium tightens virus rules -

Belgium announced a renewed partial lockdown of four weeks, with schools closed and non-essential stores open to customers by appointment only.

- Brazil: 3,251 dead in a day

Brazil's daily death toll crossed the 3,000 barrier for the first time, with hospitals at breaking point and nearly 300,000 lives already lost to the virus.

- Hong Kong suspends Pfizer vaccine -

Hong Kong suspended the use of Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine after being informed some vials from a recent batch had "defective caps" -- although authorities said none of the problematic containers were used on residents. 

- French ministers in hospital -

France's Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot is admitted to hospital with the virus two days after her cabinet colleague Employment Minister Elisabeth Borne.

Borne said on Twitter that she was released Wednesday, thanking hospital staff for their help "during these difficult days."

- Poland's never been worse - 

Poland reports nearly 30,000 new infections in a single day, the worst since the start of the pandemic as the government vows to toughen its partial lockdown.

- HK clinic punished -

Hong Kong authorities kick a clinic out of its vaccination programme for reportedly recommending the German-made Pfizer/BioNTech shot to patients over the one from China's Sinovac.

- More than 479 million doses -

More than 479 million vaccine doses have been administered in at least 164 countries or territories, according to an AFP count based on official sources at 1400 GMT.

- 2.7 million dead -

At least 2,735,411 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources. 

The United States is the worst-affected country with 543,849 deaths, followed by Brazil with 298,676, Mexico with 199,048, India with 160,441 and Britain with 126,284.

With inputs from AFP.