The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients soared to 78,249 on Tuesday, with 27,850 cases reported in Punjab, 31,086 in Sindh, 10,897 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,514 in Balochistan, 738 in Gilgit Baltistan, 2,893 in Islamabad and 271 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 1,644 lives while about 27,110 coronavirus patients have recovered so far. Punjab reported 1,610 more Covid-19 cases and 43 more deaths, according to the provincial Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department. With the new cases, Punjab’s tally has risen to 27,850 while the death toll has risen to 540. Lahore Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Faisal Shehzad tested positive for Covid-19. After experiencing symptoms, Faisal Shehzad had self-isolated two days ago. CIA Civil Lines In-charge Amir Dogar succumbed to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. The CIA superintendent of police (SP) confirmed the news saying the victim had been unwell for the past few days. He said the number of Punjab police personnel who have faced the deadly disease so far has risen to four. Punjab Minister for Energy Dr. Akhtar Malik recovered from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. Malik was tested positive for the coronavirus on May 23. He was in self-isolation after found positive of coronavirus, a spokesperson of Punjab health department had said. In his tweet Dr Akhtar Malik said his battle against the coronavirus is now over and he stands recovered now. Thirteen doctors and one nurse of the Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital tested positive for coronavirus in Sialkot. Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Zahid Kaleem told reporters that eight female doctors were doing duty at the hospital. Sindh reported 1,439 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest the province has reported thus far. An additional 23 people succumbed to the virus, while 953 persons recovered. In the past 24 hours, 5,454 tests were conducted in the province, of which 26.4 per cent were positive, said Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in a statement issued by the CM House. He added that the provincial government has conducted 192,546 tests so far, with 31,086 total positive cases. “In other words, the overall detection of the cases comes to 16.2 per cent while the current detection has been recorded at 26.4 per cent,” he said. The provincial death toll has hit 526, which is 1.7 per cent of the total reported patients. The recovery rate stands at 50 per cent, said Shah. Elaborating on the cases that have emerged in the past 24 hours, he said that 1,035 of them are from Karachi – 263 from Korangi district, 242 from East district, 166 cases in district Central, 167 in South district, and 58 cases in West district. Of the rest, Larkana reported 50, Hyderabad 47, Sukkur 40, Khairpur 33, Ghotki 27, Shaheed Benazirabad 17, Badin 15, Sanghar 13, Jamshoro nine, Qambar Shahdadkot reported six, while five new cases emerged in Sujawal and Shikarpur each, and one each in Umerkot and Matiari districts. At least 412 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to 10,897. According to health authorities, 112 patients have also recovered in the province. The virus has also claimed eight lives in the province. Focal person for the public health reference laboratory at Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar Prof Jawad Ahmed tested positive for the coronavirus. Ahmed, who is also a professor at Peshawar University said that his wife and mother have also tested positive. He said that he was on duty during the Eid holidays but his family had gone to their village where they might have contracted the virus.