The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients soared to 18,770, with 6,854 cases reported in Punjab, 7,102 in Sindh, 2,907 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,172 in Balochistan, 340 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 365 in Islamabad and 66 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 432 lives while some 4,753 coronavirus patients have recovered. At least 1,071 fresh cases were reported in last 24 hours while 24 more people lost their lives to the deadly virus. The Gilgit Baltistan government Saturday said that 16 more people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 to bring the region’s tally to 365. Out of the 16 positive cases, two were reported from Gilgit, 11 from Astore, and one each in Ghizer, Hunza and Ghanche. Five more patients have recuperated from the mysterious disease in the region. The Balochistan Health Department confirmed three more casualties due to coronavirus to raise the provincial death toll to 19. Thirty-six new local transmission cases also increased Covid-19 tally in the province to 1,172. Some 183 patients have recovered from the mysterious disease in the province so far, according to the daily situational report. Another 11 people succumbed to novel coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the 24 hours to bring the provincial death toll to 172 – the highest in the country. The KP Health Department also said that 108 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported, taking the tally to 2,907. At least 38 more patients recuperated from the disease to raise total number of recoveries to 728 in the province. A Khyber Pakhtunkhwa policeman died on Saturday while undergoing treatment for Covid-19. Faheem, 36, is the first police official who has succumbed to the coronavirus while performing his duties during the lockdown. He was working in a bomb disposal squad of Nowshera police and had recently received an award for outstanding performance, said a KP police official. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has noted that out of the 427 coronavirus cases detected in Sindh during the past 24 hours, 376 were reported from Karachi, which he said shows that the number of new cases is not dropping in the port city. He said that 131 of the new cases were diagnosed in South district, 65 in East, 54 Korangi, 47 West, 46 Central and 33 Malir. At least 253 Children including a 10-month-old baby in Sindh have been affected by Covid-19 and of the total patients, more than 26% are females. “That means the virus has reached our homes. Plz stay safe, maintain social distancing & help each other by isolating urselves. Total Tests 61020 (today 3259) Positive Cases 7102 (today 427) Recovered Cases 1341 Deaths 122,” Murtaza Wahab said in a tweet. An employee of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been tested positive of the coronavirus disease, an official of the high court confirmed on Saturday. “An employee of the high court underwent coronavirus test at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which came back positive,” an assistant registrar said. The employee would have touched several office files during his duty, he said. “The high court will arrange coronavirus tests of all its employees,” added. Moreover, the reports have also confirmed coronavirus infection in 10 officials of the assistant commissioner’s office in Daska. According to officials, the authorities have imposed complete lockdown in 2.5-kilometer radius in the area after positive reports of the officials. A 26-year-old female doctor passed away from the coronavirus at Rawalpindi’s Holy Family hospital, it emerged on Saturday. The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Shehzad, confirmed that the young doctor died due to Covid-19. He revealed that Dr Rabia Tayyab had complained about mild flu and cough symptoms on April 20 which the doctors declared as ‘normal fever’. When her condition worsened after four days, she was brought to the Holy Family Hospital. She was put on a ventilator but died on April 30.