Pakistan reports 11th COVID-19 death; 1,369 cases confirmed.

LAHORE: The death toll in the country from COVID-19 rises to 11 after Punjab reported two more coronavirus deaths on Friday - one in Lahore

and the other in Faisalabad.

According to the Punjab Health Department, a 70-year-old coronavirus patient died in Lahore's Mayo Hospital on Friday. He was a resident of Sheikhupura. Also, a 22-year-old coronavirus patient died in Faisalabad, according to a spokesperson for the provincial health department. He was admitted to Ghulam Muhammad Abad Hospital in Faisalabad.

It must be noted that there are 1,369 confirmed coronavirus case in Pakistan, according to the latest report released by the National Command and Control Centre on coronavirus on Friday.

Meanwhile, 42 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, taking the provincial tally to 490, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab Health Department.

Punjab now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, overtaking Sindh's total of 440. Meanwhile, two coronavirus patients were discharged from a hospital in Balochistan after recovering from the disease, according to the provincial government's spokesperson.

Liaqat Shahwani said both patients had been under treatment at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Quetta, since they were diagnosed with the virus. They were released from the hospital after they tested negative for the COVID-19 after treatment.

Also, the government has established a Command and Control Centre to ensure effective coordination among the federal and provincial governments on control of COVID-19, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday.

Qureshi, who attended the high-level meeting of National Coordination Committee chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan a day earlier, said the facility would work under National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

"The provinces have been asked to nominate their representatives so that they can work in tandem through a standardized mechanism," the foreign minister said in a briefing regarding the meeting.

The National Coordination Committee also decided to put in place protective measures for health worker who remained a frontline defence during the challenge of coronavirus, he said.

The decisions in this regard include improvement in testing facility and purchase of new PCR machines - also known as thermal cycler most commonly used to amplify segments of DNA via the polymerase chain reaction.

He said keeping a balance between lockdown and provision of basic necessities of life...