Pakistan's coronavirus count passes 2,100 with 170 new cases

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has witnessed a surge in coronavirus count with 170 new cases, taking the tally to 2,104 while 82 patients recovered from COVID-19 pandemic, according to the national dashboard.

The latest statistics of the national dashboard stated 10 patients remained in critical condition after 26 reported deaths in different parts of the country. No death is reported today.

Punjab has the highest number of infections up to 740 followed by Sindh with 709 patients. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported 253 cases, 184 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), 158 in Balochistan, 54 in Islamabad and 6 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

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The country has recorded 170 new cases during the last 24 hours.

Extension in lockdown

Pakistan decided for extending its lockdown till April 14 to curb the spread of COVID-19 besides finalising a solid strategy to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

The decisions were taken in a session of National Coordination Committee held under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan to review the current situation of coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.

It is decided to extend lockdown till April 14 besides finalising to hold consultations on April 5 to relax the restrictions in phases across the country.

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The session was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief ministers, federal minister, special assistants and other high-level officers via video link.

It is pertinent to mention here that PM Khan has summoned NCC meeting again on Thursday (today) to review the further measures for containing the virus.

Evacuation of nationals

Special Assistant on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning, Moeed Yusuf, told media that special measures are being taken to bring back Pakistanis stranded in foreign countries.

“The nationals will be brought back to Pakistan through 17 special flights to be operated for United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Turkey, Kuala Lumpur, Baku. The special flights will be operated from April 3 to April 11 from Pakistan,” said Yusuf.

Military deployments

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa issued orders to troops on the ground to reach out to citizens in every nook and corner of the country for protecting them against coronavirus pandemic, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This time the challenge is entirely different. Armed Forces will stand shoulder to shoulder with nation to guard the border between people and COVID-19. Pak Army being part of national effort will not leave any stone unturned for security and safety of people of Pak,” vowed COAS Bajwa.

Global tally

More than 900,000 cases of coronavirus have been officially detected worldwide since the pandemic emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1900 GMT on Wednesday using official sources.

Read: US surpasses 200,000 coronavirus cases, warns time running out for evacuations

At least 905,589 infections including 45,719 deaths, have been recorded in 187 countries and territories globally, with 203,608 cases and 4,476 deaths in the United States where the pandemic is spreading rapidly.

Italy with 110,574 detected cases has the highest number of fatalities with 13,155 deaths. Spain has 102,136 cases including 9,053 deaths and China has 81,554 cases and 3,312 deaths.

WHO voices concerns

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) voiced deep concern on Wednesday about “the rapid escalation and global spread” of COVID-19 infections with the new coronavirus, which has now reached 205 countries and territories.

Read: Italy extends lockdown as toll passes 13,000

“In the past 5 weeks there has been a near exponential growth in the number of new cases and the number of deaths has more than doubled in past week,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a virtual news conference in Geneva.

“In the next few days we will reach 1 million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide,” Tedros said.