Pak's daily COVID-19 cases cross 2,000 first time since Jan

Amid fears that the third wave of COVID-19 is imminent in Pakistan, the country's daily COVID-19 cases count has surpassed 2000 for the first time since January.

According to official data, Pakistan has reported 2,258 cases in the last 24 hours, marking the first time the country has reported over 2,000 infections since January 29, when 2,186 cases were recorded.

This comes a day after Pakistan authorities re-imposed restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Pakistan has reported over 5,97,000 COVID-19 cases so far. Over 13,000 people have died due to the infection

A National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) press release stated that 42,164 tests were conducted on March 10, which translates into a positivity rate of 5.3 per cent, while the total number of active cases in the country is 17,627 as of March 11.

Punjab province reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 1290, followed by Islamabad (350).

As cases began rising drastically, the NCOC on Wednesday re-imposed a number of restrictions that had been in force in the country prior to February 24.

The centre announced a two-week spring vacation in educational institutions in 10 cities whereas Balochistan and Sindh were given suggestion to limit attendance to 50 pc.

It decided to continue smart lockdowns and micro smart lockdowns and re-enforce 50 per cent work from home policy and a time limit of 10 pm on all commercial activities with immediate effect. Amusement parks will be closed at 6 pm and strict compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) will continue across the board.

The NCOC session was presided over by Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, which reviewed the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) already issued and valid till March 15.

( With inputs from ANI )