Coronavirus cases jump to 76,398 with 1,621 fatalities, 27,110 recoveries

ISLAMABAD: The countrywide tally of coronavirus cases has surged to 76,398 with 78 more Covid-19 related deaths reported over the previous 24 hours.

So far, 29,647 cases have been detected in Sindh, 27,850 in Punjab, 10,485 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,514 in Balochistan, 2,893 in Islamabad, 271 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 738 in Gilgit Baltistan, according to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

With 78 more fatalities from the virus over the past 24 hours, the number of people who have succumbed to the disease in the country so far has jumped to 1,621. A total of 3,938 new cases were detected when 16,548 new tests were conducted over the previous 24 hours across the country.

The number of people defeating the deadly virus has reached 27,110.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the National Coordination Committee the previous day, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced to open more sectors of the economy, including tourism to minimise negative effects of the lockdown on the country’s 25% population living below the poverty line.

“Over 50 million people in Pakistan cannot afford two times meal if they do not go to work. We have a totally different situation when compared with other countries like China, the United States and Europe,” he maintained.

“The virus will spread and the number of deaths can rise. But if we have to survive, we will have to follow the SOPs,” he added.