148 virus patients die in 24 hours.

ISLAMABAD -- The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday said that at least 148 more people died while battling COVID-19 during the last 24 hours.

According to NCOC, at least 4,044 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the country during the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 192,970. These include 71191 in Punjab, 74070 in Sindh, 23887 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9817 in Balochistan, 11710 in Islamabad, 1365 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 930 in Azad Kashmir. Also, the death toll from the virus stands at 3903 with 148 deaths reported over the last twenty-four hours. At least 21,835 corona tests were carried out during this period. So far, 81,307 patients have recovered from the disease.

On Thursday, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services (NHS) said Pakistan was implementing smart lockdown because 25 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and it will face hardships.

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This was stated by SAPM on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza in a meeting held through video link with Regional Director of the World Health Organization Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari along with his team of senior officials of WHO Regional Headquarters in Cairo. The statement released by the ministry of NHS said that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Pakistan's COVID-19 response and explore areas where WHO could provide technical guidance and support to the country.

Dr Zafar Mirza was accompanied by Dr. Rana Muhammed Safdar, Head of the National Emergency Operation Centre. Speaking about political commitment in Pakistan to fighting the disease, Dr. Mirza said this was the highest level of uninterrupted political attention to a health-care issue. Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs the National Coordination Committee with all Provincial Chief Ministers as members, he said.

In March, the National Command and Operation Centre had been established with top leadership discussing each aspect of the response thread-bare every day.

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