45 more die as COVID-19 death toll reaches 23,000

ISLAMABAD: Forty-five more people lost their lives to the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking Pakistan's nationwide death toll past 23,000, figures issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed on Sunday.

According to the NCOC, 44,579 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, out of which 2,819 turned out to be positive. The result meant that Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio stands at 6.3%.

On the other hand, the 45 new deaths mean that the nationwide death toll stands at 23,016. The total number of recovered patients in Pakistan stands at 925,958 and the number of active cases is at 55,720.

On Friday, the Sindh government announced it is re-imposing the coronavirus restrictions in the province starting Monday after the positivity ratio in the province crossed 23%.

The decision came during a meeting of the Provincial Coronavirus Task Force chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. According to a notification issued by the home department, general businesses, shopping malls, shops, and department stores will only be allowed to operate from 6am to 6pm. Stand-alone grocery stores, milk shops, bakeries, fruit/vegetable vendors and pharmacies, however, are exempt from this rule.

The provincial government has placed a "complete ban" on all functions and gatherings, including wedding and related functions, whether held indoors or outdoors.

The authorities have also banned indoor and outdoor dining at restaurants, which will only be allowed to offer takeaway till 10pm and delivery services till midnight. Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday announced that Pakistan has successfully inoculated 25 million people against the novel coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, the minister announced that aside from inoculating 25 million people (2.5 crores), the government is employing measures to vaccinate more people in the coming month, reported Geo News Sunday.

"Further acceleration is being planned for August. By the end of August, all major cities' target is to have at least 40% of the eligible population vaccinated," Umar wrote.