Another 131 people lost their lives to coronavirus whereas 5,112 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours (Thursday), showed the data released by the Ministry of National Health Services on Friday morning.

According to the latest figures, after the addition of 131 new deaths the toll has now surged to 17,811 while the number of confirmed cases stood at 820,823, after adding 5,112 new infections.

As of Friday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 91,574 and the positivity rate recorded at 10.04 percent.

The health facilities across the country conducted 49,099 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of Covid-19 tests to 1,223,001 since the first case was reported.

Punjab: Authorities reported 83 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 8,410. The province now has 301,114 confirmed cases; it reported 2,296 new infections after conducting 18,962 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.1 percent. There were 1,395 new recoveries recorded, leaving 243,463 fully recovered, and 49,241 active cases of the virus.

Sindh: Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 282,445; it reported 1,060 new infections after conducting 14,633 tests, a positivity ratio of 7.24 percent. The province reported 4 deaths, raising toll to 4,633, while its recoveries rose by 279 to 264,052. Overall, the province now has 13,760 active cases of the novel coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Thursday), the provincial government recorded 1,034 new infections after conducting 8,230 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.56 percent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 117,557. It recorded 36 new deaths and 800 recoveries, raising toll to 3,274 and recoveries to 102,142. There are currently 12,141 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 22,278 with 160 new infections after conducting 894 tests, a positivity ratio of 17.9 percent. There was 1 death and 62 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 234 fatalities and 20,592 fully recovered. There are now 1,452 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 427 to 75,067 after conducting 5,168 tests; a positivity ratio of 8.3 percent. There were 2 deaths and 549 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 677 casualties; 61,785 recovered; and 12,603 active cases.

GB: Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 9 new cases of COVID-19 after conducting 453 tests, a positivity ratio of 1.99 percent; it now has 5,305 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths and 23 recoveries, leaving 106 fatalities and 5,072 fully recovered people. There are currently 127 active cases of COVID-19 in the region.

AJK: In Azad Kashmir, confirmed cases rose by 126 to 17,057 after conducting 759 tests, a positivity ratio of 16.6 percent. There were 5 deaths and 164 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 475 fatalities and 14,359 fully recovered. It now has 2,223 active cases of COVID-19.

Global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- India reels -

India's disaster deepens as it records a fresh spike in daily deaths to 3,645 and hits another global record of more than 379,000 new cases in the past 24 hours as dozens of countries send urgent medical aid to help tackle the spiralling crisis. 

- Europe warned -

The World Health Organization warns European nations that relaxing Covid measures could spark a "perfect storm" allowing cases to spiral -- as seen in India. 

- Africa at risk -

Africa risks being overrun by coronavirus infections if urgent measures are not taken to avert a similar disaster to the "very concerning" crisis in India, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says.

- German jab record -

Germany gives the coronavirus vaccine to 1.1 million people in a day, Health Minister Jens Spahn says, a new daily record for a European country in a massive ramp-up of the inoculation campaign.

- France to reopen - 

French cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other cultural venues and businesses that have been closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic will reopen in several stages from May 19, President Emmanuel Macron says.

- And New York -

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says that the city hopes to "fully reopen" on July 1.

- US economic recovery -

The US economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, reflecting the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions, the government reports.

- Sputnik V lawsuit -

The developer of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine says it will sue Brazil's health regulator Anvisa after it refused to import the jab.

- Lollipop tests -

A newly developed, lollipop-shaped coronavirus test is being rolled out in some of Austria's kindergartens as an alternative for toddlers who don't take well to throat or nose swabs.

- More than three million deaths -

At least 3,152,646 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 US is the worst-affected country with 574,329 deaths, followed by Brazil with 398,185, Mexico 215,918, India 204,832 and Britain 127,480. 

 

With inputs from AFP.