The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients soared to 117,216 on Wednesday, with 43,460 cases reported in Punjab, 43,790 in Sindh, 15,206 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7,335 in Balochistan, 974 in Gilgit Baltistan, 5,963 in Islamabad and 488 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir so far. The virus has claimed at least 2,317 lives while around 36,308 coronavirus patients have recovered as yet. Four more lawmakers, including PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report from the Parliament House. The report says the test results of Iqbal, Senator Sana Jamali, MNA Farrukh Habib and MNA Usman Qadri have come back positive. Ahsan Iqbal said that he has chosen to quarantine at home for 14 days after testing positive for the coronavirus. He asked his friends and well-wishers to pray for his recovery. The in-charge of the Parliament House Dispensary in a letter has drawn the Senate Secretariat’s attention towards a recent surge of Covid-19 infections among parliamentary staff, saying the situation ‘may lead to a catastrophe in future’. According to Dr Parveen Abrar, the NIH had conducted Covid-19 tests of 382 National Assembly and Senate staff members during the last week, out of which 67 have returned positive with two results pending. She said this amounts to a positive ratio of 17 per cent which is quite high. In Sindh, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah sounded alarm bells on Wednesday as the province saw the emergence of an astounding 2,487 cases and 42 infection-related deaths – the highest single-day numbers recorded so far. Raising concerns over the worrying numbers, the CM said, “This is the highest number of cases reported in a day yet. The situation is turning out to be alarming.” Shedding light on the geographical dispersion of the newly-reported cases, he said that 1,755 were reported from Karachi, comprising 498 from East district, 443 from South district, 409 from Central district, 173 from Malir, 117 from West district and 115 from Korangi. Moreover, he said, 80 new cases had emerged in Hyderabad, 69 in Ghotki, 43 in Sukkur, 40 in Larkana, 37 in Sanghar, 29 in Khairpur, 25 in Dadu, 25 in Jamshoro, 23 in Sujawal, 22 in Kashmore-Kandhkot, 17 in Shikarpur, 13 each in Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad, 12 in Thatta, 11 each in Qambar-Shahdadkot and Tando Muhammad Khan, nine in Umerkot, eight in Jacobabad, four in Badin and one in Tando Allahyar. Besides, with the virus claiming the lives of 42 more patients, the death toll stemming from the pandemic climbed to 738, he added. “Among the deceased so far, 12 were healthcare workers,” he stated. According to him, there are currently 22,045 patients under treatment in the province, 20,471 of whom are in home isolation, 48 are in isolation centres and 1,526 in hospitals. Among those in hospitals, 493 are critically ill, including 77 on ventilators. Speaking of fresh recoveries, he said that 1,111 more people had recuperated, raising the number of recovered patients to 21,007. As 44 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus surfaced in a single day, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Wednesday decided to impose almost a week-long complete lockdown in Muzaffarabad from June 12 to contain the further spread of the global pandemic. Dr Mustafa Bashir, minister for information technology and AJK government’s spokesman, said that initially the complete lockdown will continue for six days and decision for its continuation or relaxation will be taken later keeping in view the developing situation of the pandemic. The Balochistan health department has confirmed 11 more casualties due to coronavirus in the past 24 hours to bring the provincial death toll to 73. Health officials also confirmed 304 new Covid-19 cases to raise the province’s tally to 7,335. At least 2,596 patients have recuperated from the respiratory disease in the province so far. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has confirmed nine more fatalities due to coronavirus in the past 24 hours to bring the provincial death toll to 619. Five deaths were reported from Peshawar, two from Abbottabad and one each from Dir Upper and Karak. As many as 679 new cases – 64 at Torkham and 17 at the international flights center – were also confirmed, taking the total to 15,206. At least 140 patients recovered, taking tally to 3,771. A total of 87,528 tests have been conducted in the province so far. Punjab reported 2,641 new Covid-19 cases during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 43,460. According to a spokesperson of the health department, 34 more patients died as the death toll reached 807 in the province. He further said that 8,643 people have recovered from the deadly disease in Punjab.