146 more succumb to coronavirus in Pakistan

At least 146  more succumbed to coronavirus in Pakistan on Saturday, taking the total death tally to   17,957 nationwide on Saturday.

About 48,740 coronavirus tests were conducted in the country, out of which 4,696 came back positive, showed the data by National Command Operation Centre (NCOC). The positivity ratio was recorded at 9.63% in the country as of today.

With the emergence of new infections, the total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 825,519, with most cases reported in Punjab.

The number of recoveries has reached 717,009 across the country so far. Moreover, the number of active cases in the country stands at 90,553 as of today.

The national death toll after the recent deaths stands at 17,957. Out of those, 8,500 were residents of Punjab, 4,645 of Sindh, 3,310 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 683 of Islamabad, 236 of Balochistan, 107 of GB, and 476 of AJK.

A day earlier, NCOC head Asad Umar said on Twitter said that the total number of critically ill coronavirus patients on oxygen has reached 5,360 in Pakistan.

He said this figure is 57% more than the peak last June. "Alhamdulillah have so far managed to cope with this huge increase because of proactively building the capacity of the entire system from oxygen production to beds," he said.

He said Pakistan's total oxygen production operational capacity last year was 487 tons per day.

This has increased to 798 tons per day. Oxygen production has gone up from 465 tons per day last June to 725 tons currently. The country also imported 19,200 oxygen cylinders last year to ensure distribution.