World News | Pakistan Records 4,858 New COVID-19 Cases as Virus Surge Continues

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 2 (ANI): Pakistan has again registered a spike in COVID-19 cases as the country recorded 4,858 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, local media reported on Monday.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said that the COVID-19 took 40 more lives in the last 24 hours. The COVID-19 death toll now stands at 23,462.

"Statistics 2 Aug 21: Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 56,414 Positive Cases: 4858 Positivity %: 8.61% Deaths: 40," NCOC said in a tweet.

According to the NCOC, Pakistan's COVID-19 tally has risen to 1,039,695. Meanwhile, the positivity rate of infections was recorded at 8.61 per cent.

Pakistan on Sunday imposed a smart lockdown in various sectors of the capital due to a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to a notification issued by the Islamabad district magistrate, the movement of residents will be restricted in 27 streets in different sectors with a high Covid-19 positivity ratio.

Exemptions to the order include essential services and supplies like pharmacy and medicine shops, grocery store and bakeries, patients for medical aid/medical consultation, rationing, drinking water supplies, utilities and emergencies, Dawn reported.

"The citizens are requested to make prior arrangements for their convenience including ration, medicines and reschedule their engagements/office work before the onset of lockdown/sealing date and time," the notification read.

This comes after Sindh province imposed a partial lockdown from Saturday till August 8 as the COVID-19 cases are surging.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday slammed the partial COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the provincial government in Sindh as it went against the wishes of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government.

While speaking during a question-and-answer session, Khan addressed the Sindh's decision to impose a partial lockdown to curb rising Covid-19 cases, saying it hadn't taken into consideration the hardships of the poor, Dawn newspaper reported.

"We had a small problem between the federal government and Sindh," Khan said. "Sindh government wanted to impose a lockdown, which is the correct decision and will curb the spread of virus." (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)