The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan is nearing 250,000 as there is a significant drop in the number of cases being registered every day.

According to the latest data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday, as many as 2,521 new cases surfaced during the last 24 hours (Saturday) taking the tally to 248,872.

The death toll from the virus has reached 5,197 with 74 more deaths reported over the last 24 hours (Saturday).

Sindh has become the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad. Till now 103,836 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 86,556 in Punjab, 30,078 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,157 in Balochistan, 14,023 in Islamabad, 1,658 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 1,564 in Azad Kashmir.

Furthermore, 2,006 individuals have lost their lives in Punjab, 1,747 in Sindh, 1,087 in KP, 126 in Balochistan, 152 in Islamabad, 36 in GB and 43 in Azad Kashmir.

Patients are under treatment at quarantine centres of 462 hospitals where 7,295 beds are available.

Pakistan has so far conducted 1,562,638 coronavirus tests and 24,211 in last 24 hours. 156,700 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 2,118 patients are in critical condition.

In Asia, Pakistan is the third on the list. India is first with 822,603 coronavirus cases followed by 252,720 in Iran. If we look at the Muslim countries, Pakistan is second behind Iran.

Bangladesh active Covid-19 cases
 

Bangladesh has become the second country in Asia in terms of active Covid-19 cases posing a challenge to the country's healthcare facilities, reported Financial Express newspaper on Sunday.

Active cases mean the patients who are yet to be recovered from the deadly viral infections.

With 2,686 new cases in the last 24 hours ending on Saturday morning, Bangladesh surpassed Pakistan and stood second with hosting more coronavirus patients after India in the continent.

According to Worldometer info on coronavirus till 6:00pm on the day, in Bangladesh, a total of 90,790 active patients have been receiving treatment for a new form of the respiratory disease.

In Asia, only India has more patients than Bangladesh with treating 285,436 coronavirus-infected people.

Pakistan moved down to the third position with 88,094 active cases while Saudi Arabia (61,309 active cases) and the Philippines (38,813 active cases) in the fourth and fifth place respectively.

Despite a lesser number of confirmed cases than that of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh has higher active cases because of the comparatively low recovery rate.

Directorate General of Health Services additional director general (administration) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana said a total of 11,193 samples were tested in 77 labs across the country since Friday morning.

With the tests, a total of 929,465 samples have been so far tested across the country. Of them, some 2,686 samples were found Covid-19 positive along with 30 more deaths recorded across Bangladesh during the period, she said. "With new ones, the overall tally of confirmed cases rose to 181,129," she said.

With 1,628 people getting recovered afresh, a total of 88,034 patients have already recovered while 2,305 others died of viral disease, she added.

"Now, the number of active cases is 90,790. Our healthcare professionals have been working relentlessly for the recovery of the patients and the recovery rate is increasing gradually, which is a good sign," Dr Nasima said.

According to the DGHS latest statistics, the recovery rate has gone past 48 percent. It said 13 of the latest deaths were recorded in Dhaka division, followed by ten in Chattogram, three each in Rajshahi and Khulna and one in Barishal division.

DGHS sources said 63,452 people now remain under home and institutional quarantine while 17,491 others in isolation.

Healthcare professionals see such a large number of active cases as a serious challenge for the country's healthcare system.