Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar on Saturday said that the number of Covid-19 patients on ventilators in the country is gradually decreasing and since June 20, the number has decreased by 28 percent. “On June 20, there were 2,969 Corona patients on oxygen out of which 546 were on ventilators, however by the grace of Allah Almighty, the number of patients on oxygen has come down to 1,762 whereas that on ventilators has reduced to 394 patients, showing a decline of 28 percent,” Asad Umar said in his tweet. He said the government’s strategy of smart lockdown and administrative measures to ensure implementation of SOPs and above all the better attitude of common people in this regard had helped to contain the coronavirus. Asad Umar, who also heads National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), advised the people to follow all the precautionary measures issued by the health department that would not only help safeguard us from the virus but the livelihood of common people would also continue. However, he warned that if the people would not follow SOPs, the situation in Pakistan too can get out of control as it was in the US, Brazil and India. According to the latest figures from the government’s Covid-19 portal, 62 per cent of the coronavirus patients in Pakistan have recovered. A total of 247,803 coronavirus cases have been reported in the country so far out of which 153,134 have recovered while 2,156 are in critical condition. Of these, 4,042 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours. On Saturday, another 1,452 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Sindh, taking the provincial tally to 103,820 – the highest of any region in Pakistan, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The province registered 34 new deaths, with its overall death toll from the virus rising to 1,747. A total of 10,815 Covid-19 tests were conducted in Sindh during the last 24 hours, Shah said. Punjab’s Covid-19 tally has neared 86,000 with 730 new cases. According to the government’s database on coronavirus, the new cases take Punjab’s total to 85,991. The province has recorded 13 deaths from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,985. More than 53,000 patients have recovered from the virus so far. Islamabad has recorded 98 new coronavirus cases, according to the government’s Covid-19 portal, taking the capital’s total to 13,927. Gilgit Baltistan has recorded 11 new cases, down from 14 a day earlier while Azad Jammu and Kashmir has confirmed 47, up from 26 reported cases a day earlier. Their tallies have risen to 1,630 and 1,532, respectively. GB has also reported two additional fatalities from the virus while Islamabad and AJK have recorded one death each. The graph of coronavirus infection disease is on the decline in Balochistan and 64 percent patients of Covid-19 have recuperated, provincial health department said on Saturday. According to a spokesperson of Director General Health Balochistan, the tally of recovered patients has increased from the active cases and 64 percent patients of coronavirus have recovered. During the past 24 hours, 193 more patients have recovered in Balochistan as total recuperated patients of coronavirus have reached to 7224, health department spokesperson said. According to the daily situation report of the Health Directorate, one more patient died in the disease, taking the death toll in the province to 126. In last 24 hours 275 test conducted in the province and 29 cases of COVID-19 reported, the spokesperson said. The overall tally of infections in Balochistan have now reached to 11,128, the health official said.