Pakistan records 136 new coronavirus deaths

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Wednesday reported 136 new deaths due to the coronavirus, breaking its previous record of the highest single-day fatalities ever from the novel virus, the Health Ministry said.

Some 111 COVID-19 patients had lost their battle for life on Tuesday.

With the latest surge, the death toll from COVID-19 in the country has reached 2,975.

Amid no let-up in rising cases, another 5,839 people were infected by the virus over the past 24 hours across the country, raising the tally to 154,760, the data shows. Some 58,437 patients have recovered.

According to the official statistics, Pakistan has so far conducted 950,782 tests across the country.

Health experts see the ever-increasing coronavirus cases as a result of the lifting of a prolonged lockdown late last month, warning that the country's already weak health system might crash soon if the tally continues to surge at the current pace.

On Sunday, Asad Umar, minister for planning, who is also heading the country's anti-coronavirus strategy, warned the COVID-19 cases could exceed 1 million by the end of July if the current trend persists.

Rejecting the World Health Organization's advice for a two-week strict lockdown across the country to mitigate the spread of the pandemic, Prime Minister Imran Khan, last week, said that a "smart lockdown" was the only possible option for the South Asian nuclear state in given circumstances.