Another 85 people died and 4,553 were infected by coronavirus throughout Pakistan during the last 24 hours (Wednesday), showed the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday morning.

As per the NCOC figures, after the addition of 85 new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 25,305 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,14,0418 after adding the fresh 4,553 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), a total of 61,446 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 7.4 percent.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1430705289620250633

During the last 24 hours (Wednesday), as many as 3,413 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,022,847. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 92,244.

As many as 425,570 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 385,258 in Punjab, 158,964 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 97,542 in Islamabad, 32,014 in Balochistan, 31,294 in Azad Kashmir and 9,769 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 11,666 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 6,742 in Sindh, 4,859 in KP, 856 in Islamabad, 688 in Azad Kashmir, 338 in Balochistan and 171 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Origins research 'stalled' -
Scientists charged by the United Nations with tracking down the origins of Covid-19 say the search has "stalled" in a comment in the journal Nature, warning that "the window of opportunity for conducting this crucial enquiry is closing fast".

The statement comes less than two weeks after the World Health Organization, in a bid to revive the probe, urged China to hand over information on the earliest Covid-19 cases -- with Beijing pushing back earlier this month.

Meanwhile US media says a classified US intelligence report delivered to the White House was inconclusive on the origins of the pandemic, in part due to a lack of information from China.

- Japan expands emergency -
Japan decides to extend a virus state of emergency to eight more regions, a day after the Paralympic opening ceremony, as rising infections put hospitals under pressure.

- Waning protection -
Protection from two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines wanes within less than six months, according to a study of phone app data, suggesting that booster shots may be needed to ensure prolonged coverage.

- Delta against jabs -
According to a large study of US health workers, the effectiveness against infection of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines dropped from 91 percent before the Delta variant became dominant to 66 percent afterwards.

- Oregon masks up outside -
Masks will have to be worn outside in Oregon, the state's governor announces, making the northwestern state the first in the US to re-introduce the rule.

- Unvaccinated must pay at Delta -
US carrier Delta Air Lines will start charging unvaccinated employees a $200 per month insurance surcharge from November, its CEO says, adding that the payments are "necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company".

- China reopens key terminal -
China reopens a key terminal at the world's third-busiest cargo port, after a two-week shutdown to control the virus caused major backlogs elsewhere and worsened exports already hit by extended delays caused by the pandemic.

- Costly slow rollout -
The slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines will cost the global economy $2.3 trillion in lost output, a newly released report by the Economist Intelligence Unit finds.

- Gun lobby conference scrapped -
The National Rifle Association, the powerful US gun rights group, says it is cancelling its annual meeting slated to be held in Texas next week because of a rise in infections.

- More than 4,4 million dead -
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,451,888 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 630,816 deaths, followed by Brazil with 575,742, India with 435,758, Mexico 254,466 and Peru 197,944.

With inputs from AFP.