COVID-19: Pakistan wary of second wave as winter approaches

The authorities had carried out a total of 3,702,607 tests since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 28,280 in the last 24 hours.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s number of patients recovering from the coronavirus crossed 300,000, officials said on Tuesday, amidst simmering fear that a second wave coupled with winter season could reverse the gains against the pandemic.

The Ministry of National Health Services showed that 300,616 people have fully recovered out of 315,727 reported cases of COVID-19, including 467 detected in the last 24 hours.

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At least six persons died in the last one day, taking the death toll to 6,523, the ministry said, adding that the number of active patients was 8,588.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in the largest province of Punjab crossed 100,000.Sindh reported 138,593 cases, Punjab 100,033, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 38,105, Islamabad 16,845, Balochistan 15,420, Gilgit-Baltistan 3,857 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 2,874, it said.

The authorities had carried out a total of 3,702,607 tests since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 28,280 in the last 24 hours.

Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that newly opened marriage halls and restaurants were becoming main sources for the spread of COVID-19.

He cautioned that marriage halls and restaurants could help avoid the spike if standard operating procedures were complied with.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday warned that a rise in COVID-19 infections could be expected in winter.

Dawn news quoted an official as saying that the next few weeks were critical and decisions about closing down eateries and marriage halls could be taken if cases increased further.