Increased testing needed.

On multiple days since mid-June, official figures for coronavirus-related deaths in the country have been well over 100. According to press releases issued by the National Command and Operation Centre, 111 people lost their lives to Covid-19 on June 16 and 136 on June 17.

Just last week, the Covid-19 official death toll in a single day was 153 - the highest in 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in Pakistan at the end of February. As these figures continue to climb, the daily total tests towards the end of June stand at an average of 28,500, a number far lower than the 100,000 daily testing milestone the government has calculated for July.

It is evident that, much like the global trend in countries where Covid-19 cases have soared, Pakistan's daily cases and deaths are growing. In fact, the current scenario was predicted by healthcare professionals who had warned of a rise in coronavirus cases if restrictions were lifted at the end of May.

Although the authorities may argue that cases and deaths here are still lower than in many of the worst-hit countries - such as the UK where over 1,000...