COVID-19: Pakistan records highest single-day increase, tally at 1,39,230

Pakistan has recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day with 6,825 new patients, taking the tally to 1,39,230, while more than 80 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said that the country’s death toll due to the COVID-19 has reached 2,632 with 81 more fatalities.

It said that in the last 24 hours, 6,825 people tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest number of increase in a single day so far, taking the total number of cases to 1,39,230.

The number of people who have so far recovered has reached 51,735, it said.

But on the other side, the number of patients in the two largest provinces of Punjab and Sindh crossed 50,000 each.

According to the ministry data, Punjab has 52,601 patients, Sindh 51,518, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 17,450, Balochistan 8,028, Islamabad 7,934, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,095 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 604.

So far 868,565 tests have been conducted across the country, including 29,546 in the last 24 hours.

According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the contagion has infected over 77,00,000 people and killed more than 4,30,000 across the world. The US is the worst affected country with over 2.07 million cases and more than 1,15,000 deaths.

The COVID-19, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has also battered the world economy with the International Monetary Fund saying that the global economy is bound to suffer a "severe recession".

Scientists are racing against time to find a vaccine or medicine for its treatment. PTI SH CPS