Pakistan has registered an uptick in coronavirus deaths as it recorded 13 more fatalities and 363 infections during the last 24 hours (Wednesday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the NCOC data, after the addition of 13 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 28,690 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,283,223 after adding the fresh 363 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), a total of 41,240 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.88 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 998.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1463677454212640770

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), as many as 1,000 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,240,995. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 13,538.

As many as 474,772 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 442,714 in Punjab, 179,774 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 107,554 in Islamabad, 33,458 in Balochistan, 34,540 in Azad Kashmir and 10,411 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,007 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,619 in Sindh, 5,825 in KP, 952 in Islamabad, 742 in Azad Kashmir, 359 in Balochistan and 186 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Germany's Covid death toll -

More than 100,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Germany since the start of the pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute, a public health agency, announced Thursday.

Europe's largest economy is battling a fresh surge in virus cases, and recorded 351 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 100,119, according to RKI's figures.

- EU alarm -

The European Union health agency calls on member states to "urgently" introduce measures to reduce the potentially "very high burden" from Covid-19 in December and January.

- EU booster call -

All adults in the EU should have access to Covid vaccine boosters, the bloc's chief Ursula von der Leyen says.

- Vaccine worries -

Covid vaccines reduce transmission of the dominant Delta variant by about 40 percent, the World Health Organization says, warning that people are falling into a false sense of security.

- New Dutch curbs? -

The Netherlands could announce tougher Covid-19 restrictions this week, just days after four nights of riots against the existing partial lockdown, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge says.

- Slovakia lockdown -

Slovakia will go into partial lockdown from Thursday, with restaurants and non-essential shops to shut while schools remain open, the government says.

- Putin plea -

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes another appeal to sceptical Russians to vaccinate themselves against Covid-19 but remains opposed to mandatory vaccinations.

- German carer bonuses -

Germany's incoming government will invest one billion euros in bonuses for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic, incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz says.

- Cyprus clamps down -

Cyprus Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas says that after December 15, anyone who has not received a Covid-19 vaccine will be banned from sporting events, restaurants, cinemas and nightclubs.

- Bayern stars positive -

Bayern Munich says that star midfielder Joshua Kimmich and back-up striker Eric Choupo-Moting -- both of whom are unvaccinated -- have tested positive for Covid-19.

- More than 5.1 million dead - 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,165,289 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Wednesday. 

The US has suffered the most Covid-related deaths with 773,857, followed by Brazil with 613,066, India with 466,584, Mexico with 292,850 and Russia with 267,819.

The countries with the most new deaths were Russia with 1,240, followed by US with 1,183 and Ukraine with 595.

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.