Pakistan has posted another seven deaths and 411 infections during the last 24 hours (Friday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday morning.

As per the NCOC data, after the addition of seven new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 28,704 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,283,886 after adding the fresh 411 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Friday), a total of 44,598 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.92 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 935.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1464409625768316937

During the last 24 hours (Friday), as many as 300 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,241,589. As of Saturday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 13,593.

As many as 475,097 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 442,876 in Punjab, 179,888 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 107601 in Islamabad, 33,471 in Balochistan, 34,542 in Azad Kashmir and 10,411 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,015 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,620 in Sindh, 5,830 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:

- New variant named -

The World Health Organization declares the B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19, recently discovered in southern Africa, to be a variant of concern, renaming it Omicron.

- Southern Africa cut off -

European Union officials at an emergency meeting over the new variant agree to urge the bloc's 27 nations to restrict travel from southern Africa.

The United States also restricts travel from eight southern African countries, while Canada bans travellers from seven countries.

The Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia also restrict arrivals from the region, while Japan imposes a 10-day quarantine period for travellers arriving from six countries.

- First European case -

Belgium says it has detected the first announced Omicron case in Europe in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad.

- Stocks, oil plunge -

Stock markets and oil prices plunge over fears of the variant that could potentially deal a heavy blow to the global economic recovery.

- Too soon -

The EU's drug regulator says that it is closely monitoring the new variant, but it is too soon to tell if updated vaccines will be needed.

- Dutch tighten lockdown -

The Netherlands will tighten its partial Covid lockdown with the early closure of bars, restaurants and shops, Prime Minister Mark Rutte says, explaining that "from Sunday, the whole of the Netherlands is effectively closed between 5pm and 5am."

- Caribbean violence -

Ten police officers are injured and several journalists shot at -- including an AFP photographer -- on the French Caribbean island of Martinique as protests sparked by vaccine measures spread despite a curfew. The unrest follows similar violence on neighbouring Guadeloupe.

- EU ends vaccine controls -

The EU says it will end from the start of next year its mandatory checks-and-approval system for Covid-19 vaccine exports, brought in at a time it was struggling with low vaccine supplies.

- More than 5.1 million dead - 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,180,276 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Friday. 

The United States has suffered the most Covid-related deaths with 775,797, followed by Brazil with 613,642, India with 467,468, Mexico with 293,449 and Russia with 270,292.

The countries with the most new deaths are Russia with 1,235, followed by Ukraine with 628 and India 488, a figure that follows an upward revision of the Asian nation's official toll.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the World Health Organization estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.

With inputs from AFP.