There were further visible signs that the fourth wave of Covid-19 was on the verge of diminishing in Pakistan as the country reported only THREE deaths and 250 infections from the coronavirus pandemic during the last 24 hours (Monday), showed the statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday morning.

As per the NCOC data, after the addition of three new deaths, the overall toll has now surged to 28,839 whereas the number of total infections now stood at 1,289,543 after adding the fresh 250 cases.

During the last 24 hours (Monday), a total of 36,944 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.67 percent. The number of patients in critical care was 734.

https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1470560199639543809

During the last 24 hours (Monday), as many as 175 patients have recovered from the virus whereas the total recoveries stood at 1,251,584. As of Tuesday, the total count of active cases in the country was recorded at 9,120.

As many as 478,173 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 443,937 in Punjab, 180,710 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 108,146 in Islamabad, 33,536 in Balochistan, 34,615 in Azad Kashmir and 10,426 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 13,052 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab so far, 7,638 in Sindh, 5,894 in KP, 963 in Islamabad, 743 in Azad Kashmir, 363 in Balochistan and 186 in Gilgit Baltistan.

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Here are the global developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- First UK death from Omicron -

Omicron has killed at least one person in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reveals as he launches a large booster programme against the variant.

- Norway tightens measures -

Norway announces new Covid curbs less than a week after tightening restrictions in the face of the spread of the Omicron variant and soaring case numbers and hospital admissions.

- Latvia protests -

One police officer is injured and four demonstrators arrested as several thousand people in the Latvian capital Riga protest anti-Covid restrictions introduced by the government.

- Peru battles rising cases -

Peru, hit by the world's highest coronavirus death rate, says it is battling a "resurgence" of the pandemic, with infections and deaths rising, but no case of the Omicron variant detected so far.

- First China Omicron case -

China has recorded its first case of the Omicron variant, state media report authorities in the northeastern city of Tianjin as saying.

- DRC sees 'exponential' Covid rise -  

The Democratic Republic of Congo warns of an "exponential increase" in cases as the country battles a fourth wave of the pandemic and the arrival of the Omicron variant.

- Earlier boosters in Denmark -

Danish health authorities say a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will be offered sooner to everyone over 40 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

- Raducanu tests positive -

US Open champion Emma Raducanu tests positive for Covid-19, and pulls out of this week's Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

- English premier league hit -

The English Premier League reports 42 new Covid-19 cases, a record number since testing figures started being released in May 2020.

- Manchester United seeks postponement -

Manchester United hold talks with the Premier League over the potential postponement of Tuesday's match at Brentford after becoming the latest top-flight team to be hit by a coronavirus outbreak.

- Swiss anti-Covid drug plan - 

Switzerland launches a financial support programme for the development of four anti-Covid drugs with national bio-pharmaceutical companies.

- Over 5.3 million dead - 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,306,629 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP Monday at 2100 GMT. 

The United States has suffered the most Covid-related deaths with 797,710, followed by Brazil with 616,830, India with 475,636, Mexico with 296,672 and Russia with 290,604.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the World Health Organization estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.

With inputs from AFP.