The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic claimed 60 more lives during the past 24 hours, raising the death toll in Pakistan to 8,547, showed the latest data released by National Command and Operation Centre on Wednesday morning.

Punjab again recorded most of these deaths as 24 people died of the virus in the province. It was followed by 21 in Sindh, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four in Islamabad and one in Balochistan.

On the other hand, the total number of coronavirus cases reached 426,412 after the virus was found in another 2,963 people on Tuesday.

And it was Sindh where most of the latest infections were reported with 1,472 new cases. The corresponding figures for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad were 613, 428 and 369 respectively.

Hence, the pandemic-related region-wise numbers currently stand at: Sindh 187,684 cases and 3,081 deaths, Punjab 124,804 cases and 3,242 deaths, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 50,506 cases and 1,429 deaths, Islamabad 33,420 cases and 345 deaths, Balochistan 17,540 cases and 170 deaths, Azad Kashmir 7,427 cases and 182 deaths, Gilgit Baltistan 4,761 cases and 98 deaths.

Meanwhile, the number of people recovering from the coronavirus infection reached 372,271 with the addition of 1,797 on Tuesday. It means the number of closed cases [deaths + patients recovering from infection] has increased to 380,818. 

Hence, the country currently has 45,594 active cases out of which 2,498 are in a critical condition and being treated in intensive care units of different hospitals with 348 of them having been placed on ventilators.

Also on Tuesday, the number of tests administered in Pakistan since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic reached 5,865,944 after another 38,092 people were checked for possible infection.

The ongoing testing process is part of the efforts to identify, isolate and trace new coronavirus cases to control the infection rate.

Latest global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- 'No specific safety concerns' -

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe and effective, raising expectations the regulator is poised to grant emergency approval.

Meanwhile Oxford University and AstraZeneca become the first Covid-19 vaccine makers to clear the key hurdle of publishing final-stage clinical trial results in a scientific journal.

- Over 20 million Europe cases -

Health officials have recorded more than 20 million cases across Europe, according to an AFP tally at 1315 GMT Tuesday, the worst affected region for the disease.

- Record Saint Petersburg deaths -

Russia's second city Saint Petersburg registers a record 86 virus deaths as authorities warn of an imminent lockdown and shuttered restaurants for the New Year holidays.

- Over 1.54 million dead -

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,545,320 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Tuesday.

The US is the worst-affected country with 283,746 deaths. 

After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 177,317 deaths, India with 140,958, Mexico with 110,074, and the UK with 61,434 deaths.

- Germany hotspot locks down -

The eastern German state of Saxony, which has an incidence rate more than twice that of the national average, will from Monday impose drastic measures, shuttering schools, kindergartens and most shops.

- Jordan field hospital -

Jordan has opened the first of three field hospitals for virus patients northeast of the capital, with two others due to open soon in the central and southern regions of the kingdom, as a sharp rise in cases overburdens health facilities.

- Norwegian Air falters -

Europe's third-biggest low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection in Ireland, launches a similar process in Norway, the latest airline suffering from the pandemic that has paralysed global air traffic.

- Japan stimulus -

Japan's prime minister unveils more than $700 billion in fresh stimulus to fund projects including pandemic measures, the country's third such package this financial year.

- Trump to sign vaccine decree -

US President Donald Trump prepares to issue a decree aimed at granting Americans priority access to certain vaccines, but faces questions over whether the White House missed an opportunity to shore up sufficient doses in the months ahead.

- Pakistan cricketers freed -

Negative tests mean Pakistan's cricketers can leave quarantine in Christchurch after being holed up in their hotel for two weeks as they underwent mandatory isolation under New Zealand's protocols.

- England players also -

The two members of England’s cricket touring party who tested positive are cleared to return home with the rest of the tourists after the scrapping of the one-day series against South Africa without a single game being played.

- Rugby players suspended -

Former England captain Chris Robshaw is among 13 players at the English Barbarians invitational rugby union team to be suspended after breaching coronavirus protocols.

- First Briton vaccinated - 

A 90-year-old British grandmother becomes the first person in a Western country to receive an approved vaccine, as Britain rolls out the biggest inoculation drive in its history.

With inputs from AFP.