As there was no let-up in ever-surging coronavirus cases and deaths in neighbouring India, Pakistan recorded only six deaths during the last 24 hours (Saturday).

The tally from coronavirus infections in India crossed six and a half million mark on Sunday morning with the death toll stood at 101,812.

As per the latest data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad on Sunday morning, the total number of deaths in Pakistan has now reached 6,513 and the total number of infections rose to 314,616 after the addition of 632 more cases during the last 24 hours (Saturday).

Once again, Sindh is on the top of the list of worst-affected provinces or regions followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.

Sindh now has 138,050 confirmed coronavirus cases, Punjab has 99,812, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 37,973, Islamabad 16,766, Balochistan 15,371, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 2,816 and Gilgit-Baltistan 3,828.

As many as 2,520 individuals have lost their lives due to the epidemic in Sindh, 2,240 in Punjab, 1,260 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 146 in Balochistan, 183 in Islamabad, 88 in Gilgit Baltistan and 76 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan has so far conducted 3,644,762 coronavirus tests and 33,725 during the last 24 hours (Saturday). As many as 298,968 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 513 patients are in critical condition. The number of total active Covid cases in Pakistan stood at 9,135 on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the health officials in Faisalabad have requested the district administration for the imposition of a ‘micro smart lockdown’ following the detection of Covid-19 cases among 10 people, including four children, of Madina Town the other day.

Following the detection of the patients, the district focal person for Covid-19 approached the district administration with a request to ask the SHOs to ensure implementation of the SOPs and micro smart lockdown in the area.

All the deputy district officers health Faisalabad have been asked to mark the houses as quarantine of their respective tehsils.

A private school was closed after two students were found to have been suffering from Covid-19 in Multan the other day.

A Kamalia city’s government girls high school teacher and three girl students have been detected as Covid-19 positive. During random testing of five percent of the teachers and students of different government schools by the health department of the Kamalia tehsil, Faisalabad Allied Hospital’s laboratory had detected a teacher and two students of the Government Girls Laboratory High School, Delhi Chowk, Kamalia, and a student of the Government Girls High School of Katchi Basti, Kamalia, as coronavirus patients.

Officials said the health department had asked all of them to live in self- quarantine at their houses for two weeks.

Solomon Islands record first case

The Solomon Islands announced they have lost the battle to stay free of the coronavirus, leaving just nine small, remote territories that have not reported a single case.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told the Pacific island nation in a televised address that a student who recently arrived from the Philippines on a repatriation flight carrying 96 passengers had returned a positive test.

"It pains me to say that we have lost our Covid-19-free status despite our collective effort to prevent the pandemic from entering our country," Sogavare said Saturday.

He urged the population of 600,000 in the archipelago to remain calm and said contact tracing and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus had been activated and there was no need for a lockdown.

The student, who tested negative three times in the Philippines before boarding the flight, was found positive in a routine test on return to the capital Honiara and is now in isolation.

Eighteen other students who tested positive remain in quarantine in Manila.

Since the Solomons borders were closed in March, more than 400 students have been stuck in the Philippines, which has been hard hit by the virus.

Under pressure from parents, Solomons officials arranged three repatriation flights with the first arriving last Tuesday.

Despite confirming its first case of Covid-19, Sogavare said the government would continue working to bring the remaining students home.

Only the small and remote island nations and territories of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are believed to be still free of the virus.

With inputs from AFP