Daily Times

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients jumped to 190,334 on Wednesday, with 69,536 cases reported in Punjab, 74,070 in Sindh, 23,388 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9,634 in Balochistan, 1,337 in Gilgit Baltistan, 11,483 in Islamabad and 892 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 3,792 lives while around 77,754 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

New coronavirus cases in the country continued to decline for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, official data showed. According to the Health Ministry, 3,892 cases were confirmed across the country over the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 190,334. The figure marked a fall of almost 3,000 from the record high of 6,895 reached slightly over a week ago on June 13. It was also the fifth day of declining cases – 6,604 on June 19, 4,951 on June 20, 4,471 on June 21, and 3,946 on June 22.

Fatalities have also decreased significantly over recent days, falling to 60 on Wednesday from the record high of 153 on June 19. The death toll in the country now stands at 3,792, while recoveries increased by 4,283 to 77,754, raising the overall recovery ratio from 37% to 41.2%, according to the ministry’s data.

Emirates, one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, has suspended flights from Pakistan after passengers tested positive for coronavirus in Hong Kong. The Dubai state carrier, which is operating limited services due to the coronavirus pandemic, said the temporary suspension was effective June 24. The airline will continue to operate flights to Pakistan, she said.

Renowned international scholar, educationist and analyst Dr Mughees-ud-Din Sheikh died on Wednesday. Dr Mughees was put on ventilator last night after his health deteriorated.

The coronavirus claimed the life of two more surgeons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, raising the total number of deceased doctors to nine in the province. Dr Fazal Mabood, ENT surgeon of District Headquarters Hospital Swabi, and eye surgeon Dr Hayat Ali from Parachinar lost their battle against Covid-19.

Punjab health authorities reported 1,228 new cases on Wednesday, raising the province’s tally to 69,536. As many as 21 more persons succumbed to the virus and the provincial death toll stands at 1,516.

Khyber akhtunkhwa health department reported 499 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 23,887. The daily situation report, released by the health department, also confirmed the deaths of 14 more people.

Sindh reported 1,414 Covid-19 cases and 37 deaths during the past 24 hours, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. In his daily briefing about the province’s coronavirus situation, he said 7,400 tests were carried out over the past 24 hours, out of which 1,414 came back positive. With the new cases, the provincial total has risen to 74,070. Further, 37 more deaths were recorded during this period, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,161.

Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir collectively reported 298 new cases and four fatalities. The federal capital reported two deaths and 264 cases, taking its death toll and tally of cases to 108 and 11,483 respectively. GB reported 11 new cases while AJK recorded 23. Both federal territories reported one death each.