Another 29 people have lost their lives to coronavirus whereas 1,228 were infected during the last 24 hours (Saturday) across Pakistan, showed the figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday morning.

As per the latest NCOC statistics, with the addition of 29 new deaths the toll has now soared to 22,418 whereas the total number of cases has now reached 962,313 after adding 1,228 new ones.

During the past 24 hours (Saturday), as many as 897 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 907,284. As of Sunday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 32,621 and the positivity ratio hovered around 2.57 percent.

As many as 339,962 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 346,728 in Punjab, 138,421 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82,916 in Islamabad, 27,387 in Balochistan, 20,505 in Azad Kashmir and 6,394 in Gilgit Baltistan.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1411361833622163461

Moreover, 10,772 individuals have so far lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 5,512 in Sindh, 4,336 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 779 in Islamabad, 586 in Azad Kashmir, 312 in Balochistan and 111 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- New record death toll in Russia - 

Russia reports 697 Covid-19 deaths in the previous 24 hours, the fifth straight day the country has set a new record as it battles the surging Delta variant.

It also records 24,439 new coronavirus infections, the highest figure since the middle of January when Russia was emerging from its second wave of the pandemic.

- Tougher curbs in Indonesia - 

More than 50,000 police and troops hit the streets of Indonesia's Java island and Bali to enforce new virus curbs as the Southeast Asian nation battles an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 infections.

In Bali, police patrol shuttered beachside eateries after the holiday island shelved plans to reopen to foreign tourists.

The country's overwhelmed healthcare system teeters on the brink of collapse as jammed hospitals turn away patients, forcing families to hunt for oxygen tanks to treat the sick and dying at home.

The world's fourth-most populous nation has seen its daily caseload more than quadruple in less than a month, with a new record on Saturday of 27,913 cases logged in the past 24 hours and 493 official deaths -- less than Friday's record 539 fatalities.

- Iran fears 'fifth wave' -

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani expresses fears the country will be hit by a new wave of Covid-19 due to an outbreak of the Delta variant in the Middle East's hardest-hit country.

Iran's health ministry has classified as "red" -- the highest category on the country's coronavirus risk scale -- the capital Tehran and nine other cities in the surrounding province.

- 300 Italian health workers fight mandatory jabs -

Three hundred healthcare workers in Italy have lodged a legal challenge against the requirement that they get vaccinated against coronavirus, according to media reports.

- Nearly 4 million dead - 

The pandemic has killed at least 3,964,799 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data on Saturday.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 605,304 deaths, followed by Brazil with 521,952, India with 401,050, Mexico 233,425 and Peru with 192,902.

The figures are based on reports by health authorities in each country, but do not take into account upward revisions carried out later by statistical bodies. 

The World Health Organization says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.

With inputs from AFP.