The coronavirus claimed another 46 lives in the country during the last twenty-four hours, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday. According to the latest statistics by the NCOC, 42,113 Covid-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, out of which 1,038 people tested positive for the infection. The rate of positive cases in the last 24 hours was 2.46 percent, while the number of active cases dropped to less than 40,000. The number of active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan has come down to less than 40,000 for the first time since March 24. On March 24, the number of active cases was 37,985. The total number of deaths from the virus so far has been 21,828 and the total number of cases has reached 944,065, while 882,332 people have recovered from the virus so far. At least 183 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 344,379. According to the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department, at least 19 more patients succumbed to the pandemic as the total death count reached 10,567. The department added that at least 323,113 patients had recovered from the deadly virus as of yet, with 471 people recovered in the past 24 hours. In Sindh, as many as 19 more people died of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, bringing the province’s overall death toll from the virus to 5,292. In a daily statement on the coronavirus situation, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that 668 more cases of Covid-19 have been reported during the same period in the province. He said that of the 668 new cases, 421 were detected from Karachi, including 125 from district East, 94 from district South, 84 from Central , 79 from Korangi, 30 from Malir and nine from district West. He maintained that 304,697 patients had recovered from the disease so far in the province, including 833 during the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday announced to reopen primary and middle schools from Thursday, as the number of new Covid-19 cases reduced significantly. All public and private schools across the province will function for students from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, according to a notification. Keeping in view the extremely hot weather, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on June 10 had announced the closure of primary and middle classes for an unidentified period. Earlier on June 11, in view of the ongoing spell of heatwave in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government had changed the timings of schools. According to a notification issued by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, all the public and private schools operating in both summer and winter zones would remain open from 7:00am till 10:00am.