The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients soared to 220,239 on Thursday, with 77,740 cases reported in Punjab, 89,225 in Sindh, 26,938 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10,608 in Balochistan, 1,511 in Gilgit Baltistan, 13,082 in Islamabad and 1,135 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 4,504 lives while around 104,694 coronavirus patients have recovered so far. Sindh identified 2,430 new cases of the novel coronavirus and at least 31 deaths from the respiratory disease, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said Thursday, raising the total number of infections to 89,225 and the death toll to 1,437. In a statement issued from the CM House, Shah said the new cases were identified after the provincial health authorities carried out 9,436 tests, bumping up the total number of tests to 471,023; the detection rate, therefore, translated to 26%. In addition, 49,926 of the 89,225 total coronavirus patients across Sindh have recovered, including 1,399 over the past 24 hours, he added. “The recovery rate in the province stands at 56%,” he said. Another policeman died of the coronavirus in Karachi, according to the police spokesperson. In a statement, he said Shakeel was diagnosed with the virus on June 19 and had been under treatment at a hospital. The deceased policeman was deputed at the Pakistan Swedish Institute of Technology, Karachi under the government’s Ehsaas initiative. Punjab reported 1,478 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the government’s database on coronavirus. The provincial total has risen to 77,740. The province has also reported 22 deaths from the virus, taking the total fatalities to 1,784. According to the portal, 28,266 people have recovered from the virus in the province so far. Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively recorded 234 new Covid-19 cases and five additional fatalities.