Islamabad, Jun 26 (PTI) Pakistan's COVID-19 patients will be around 225,000 by the end of June as compared to the estimated 300,000, a senior minister said on Friday, as the country recorded 2,775 infections, the lowest single-day spike in coronavirus cases in about a month.

Planning Minister Asad Umar said the government succeeded in keeping the expected number under control after people showed responsibility.

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"As a result, we are now looking at 225,000 cases by June end instead of 300,000, which we initially feared," he told the media after chairing the meeting of the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) that reviewed the COVID-19 situation.

He said the reduction showed that success against the virus was possible through joint efforts and following the guidelines including wearing masks at public places were paying dividends.

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Umar said that hotspots were identified and provinces tasked to take action and clusters were sealed in 20 cities.

"It is a reminder that if we take the right measures, God will protect us and if we don't, the situation can worsen," he said.

He said despite the pressure on hospitals, the health system was not going to collapse.

Pakistan on Friday recorded its lowest single-day spike in coronavirus cases in about a month after 2,775 people tested positive for the infection, taking the national tally to 195,745.

The highest single-day spike was recorded on June 13 with 6,825 new cases. On May 29, Pakistan recorded 2,429 cases, the lowest.

According to the data released by the Ministry of National Health Services, 59 people died due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 3,962.

So far, 84,168 patients have recovered from the disease.

Sindh has recorded maximum 75,168 patients followed by Punjab with 71,987, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 24,303, Islamabad 11,981, Balochistan 9,946, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,398 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 962 patients.

The authorities conducted 1,193,017 tests including 21,041 tests during the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Pakistan sought the World Health Organisation's (WHO) support to develop guidelines for the upcoming Eid ul Azha when cattle markets are held across the country to sell animals for sacrifice.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Zafar Mirza during a meeting held on Thursday through video link with WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari and his team asked for help to prepare guidelines.

Mirza said Pakistan was fighting COVID-19 through a robust and coordinated national response.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Pakistan's response to the contagion and to explore areas where the WHO could provide technical guidance and support to help the country fight the virus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday defended his government's handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying there has been no confusion or contradiction in the official policies since the start of the disease.

"They say again and again that there was confusion ... if there was one country whose government did not have confusion, it was ours," Khan said while addressing Parliament.

He acknowledged about "a lot of pressure" exerted by the Cabinet colleagues to impose a strict lockdown but he refused to follow that path and even faced criticism for that.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)