Nationwide confirmed cases jump past 103,000, death toll crosses 2,050; global death toll tops 398,000
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 103,286 on Sunday after new infections were confirmed in the country.
The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 11:54pm, June 7, is as follows:
• Sindh: 38,108
• Punjab: 38,903
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 13,487
• Balochistan: 6,516
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 4,979
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 932
• AJK: 361
• Punjab: 683
• Sindh: 715
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 575
• Balochistan: 54
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 13
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 49
• AJK: 8
More than 7 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and over 398,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Read on for the latest updates from Pakistan and around the world.
Disclaimer: There may be some discrepancy in the number of confirmed cases reported at the country level due to differences in figures quoted by federal and provincial authorities.
Geo News is constantly gathering fresh information from concerned authorities and striving to keep our readers up to date with the most accurate information available.
Orange: General updates coming in from Pakistan
Red: Reports on new cases in Pakistan
Maroon: Reports on new deaths in Pakistan
Green: Reports on recovered patients in Pakistan
Gilgit-Baltistan home secretary Muhammad Ali Randhawa has notified a rise in the region's cases by 5, taking the tally to 932.
The city of New Delhi on Sunday ordered many of its hospital beds to be reserved solely for residents of the Indian capital, as the number of COVID-19 infections continued to surge.
India on Sunday registered 9,971 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 246,628 cases, with 6,929 deaths. The case numbers now lag only the United States, Brazil, Russia, United Kingdom and Spain.
New Delhi city alone has registered more than 10% of total cases, making it the third worst-affected part of the country after the western state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, and southern Tamil Nadu state.
“Delhi is in big trouble . . . corona cases are rising rapidly,” state Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a video message on Twitter, where he announced that private and city government-run hospitals will be reserved for Delhi residents.
“If we open Delhi hospitals for patients from all over, where will Delhi residents go when they get infected with coronavirus?”
The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia exceeded 100,000 on Sunday following a rise in new infections over the past ten days.
The Saudi Ministry of Health reported 3,045 new cases on Sunday, taking the total to 101,914, with 712 deaths. The number of new daily cases exceeded 3,000 for the first time on Saturday.
The country of 30 million people recorded its first COVID-19 infection on March 2. Health authorities said in April the virus could eventually infect between 10,000 and 200,000 people in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom topped 50,000 cases on May 16.
Saudi Arabia’s numbers are the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which have recorded 272,625 cases and 1,406 deaths.
The Balochistan government has decided to open up public transport service in the province, said a notification issued by the provincial authorities.
The government said it has decided to open up public transport service with SOPs after it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid on Sunday visited the coronavirus ventral control room set up in Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, said the health department.
The control room will provide daily updates to the families of the coronavirus patients.
Nationwide death toll from the coroanvirus rose to 2,032 after new deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to KP health department, 14 new deaths were recorded in province taking the provincial tally to 575.
Nationwide positive cases of coronavirus rose to 101,173 after new cases were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to KP health department, 486 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours taking the provincial toll to 13,487.
Iran's health ministry said Sunday a surge in new reported coronavirus infections was due to increased testing rather than a worsening outbreak.
After hitting a near two-month low in early May and a lifting of tough movement restrictions, cases of the COVID-19 illness have been rising in Islamic republic which is battling the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the disease.
"The main reason for rising numbers is that we started identifying (infected people) with no or light symptoms," said Mohammad-Mehdi Gouya, the health ministry's head epidemiologist.
He added that the gradual easing of lockdown measures had also contributed to higher infections "which has more or less happened all over the world," ISNA news agency reported.
Authorities have progressively lifted restrictions imposed to tackle the virus, and activity has almost returned to normal in most of the country´s 31 provinces.
Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the situation had steadily improved with fewer hospitalisations, critical cases and deaths.
"It is only normal for infections to slightly grow after reopenings," he said in televised remarks Sunday.
He confirmed 2,364 new infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 171,789.
Pope Francis on Sunday warned Italians to not let their guard down against coronavirus now that infection rates have fallen and urged them to obey government rules on social distancing and wearing masks.
Francis, addressing several hundred people in St Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, reacted to applause that broke out when he said their presence, albeit reduced, was a sign that Italy had overcome the acute phase of the pandemic.
“Be careful. Don’t cry victory too soon,” he cautioned them, departing from his prepared text.
“We still have to follow the rules,” Francis said. “Thank God, we are leaving the worst part, but always by obeying the rules that the authorities have stipulated,” he said.
Francis said no one should forget that coronavirus was still claiming many victims in other countries.
Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Sharjeel Memon shared on Sunday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and gone into self-isolation.
Memon is the Sindh Government’s focal person for coronavirus in Hyderabad and also attended the assembly session in the last two days.
Nationwide death toll from the coroanvirus rose to 2,018 after new deaths were reported in Sindh.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 16 new deaths were recorded in province taking the provincial tally to 650.
Britain’s failure to impose a nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of the coronavirus sooner has cost many lives, one of the government’s scientific advisers said on Sunday.
Britain is one of the worst-hit countries in the world, with a death toll of more than 50,000 from COVID-19, according to a Reuters tally this week based on official sources.
Critics from a broad spectrum including medical professionals, scientists and lawmakers, say the government has botched its response to the outbreak by being too slow in imposing crucial measures such as the lockdown and protecting the elderly in care homes.
Despite reservations from some of its own scientific advisers, the government is now easing nationwide lockdown measures which have closed much of the economy since March 23.
Asked during an interview on BBC TV what regrets he had about the handling of the outbreak, John Edmunds, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said: “We should have gone into lockdown earlier.”
Nationwide positive cases of coronavirus crossed 100,000 after new cases were reported in Sindh.
According to Sindh government spokepserson Murtaza Wahab, 1,744 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
The new cases takes the provincial tally of positive cases to 38,108 and the nationwide toll to 100,687.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Sunday met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed the coronavirus situation in the province.
The Philippines on Sunday reported nine more fatalities related to the novel coronavirus, taking its death toll to 1,003.
The Southeast Asian country also recorded 555 more infections, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 21,895, the Department of Health said in a bulletin.
Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways are extending the period of reduced pay for their staff until September as they try to preserve cash during the global coronavirus pandemic.
The aviation industry has been among the worst hit by the outbreak, which has dented travel demand and forced major airlines to lay off staff and seek government bailouts.
State airlines Emirates and Etihad have operated limited, mostly outbound services from the United Arab Emirates since grounding passenger flights in March.
They are due to restart some connecting flights this month after the UAE last week lifted a suspension on services where passengers stop off in the country to change planes, or for refuelling.
Dubai’s Emirates told employees on Sunday it would extend a three month wage cut due to end this month until September 30, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
In some cases, pay cuts will also be deepened, with some basic salaries reduced by 50%, the email to Emirates Group employees said.
The decision was made after reviewing all possible options to preserve its cash position, it said.
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has extended its salary cuts of between 25% to 50% to September, a spokeswoman said, as it considers all options to protect jobs and preserve cash.
The airline originally reduced salaries for the month of April.
Indonesia on Sunday reported 672 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 31,186, said a health ministry official.
There were 50 new deaths, taking the total to 1,851, while 10,498 people have recovered, the official, Achmad Yurianto, said.
Malaysia will lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses on Wednesday, including a ban on travel between its states, after a lockdown of nearly three months although its international borders will remain closed.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address on Sunday the novel coranvirus outbreak was under control and Malaysia would begin a new recovery phase until Aug. 31.
Malaysia had gradually allowed businesses to reopen with social distancing guidelines over the past month, after shutting all non-essential businesses and schools, banning public gatherings and restricting travel on March 18.
Malaysia has reported 8,303 cases with 117 deaths, with the pace of infections slowing in recent days.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Chaudhry Ali Akhtar has tested positive for the virus, confirmed the spokesperson for the lawmaker.
The spokesperson shared that the MPA was in home isolation and had gotten himself tested after showing symptoms of the virus. Akhtar was elected from Punjab Assembly’s Faisalabad III in the 2018 elections.
Russia reported 8,984 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours on Sunday, pushing the total number of infections to 467,673.
Officials said 134 people had died during the same period, bringing the official nationwide death toll to 5,859.
Taiwan will further ease its restrictions related to control of the coronavirus, the government said on Sunday, as the island has kept the pandemic well in hand with only 6 active cases and no local transmission for 56 days.
Taiwan has never gone into total lockdown and life has continued largely as normal due to its early and effective prevention work and a first rate public health system, but has promoted social distancing and ensured broad public access to face masks.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre said that it would lift restrictions limiting the number of people who could participate in “daily life and leisure events”, though people should continue to wear face masks if they were unable to socially distance.
The government has already begun moving in that direction, allowing a limited number of fans to attend sports matches previously played without spectators.
Food service on trains has also resumed.
However, border entry restrictions remain, with authorities wary of a second wave of infections coming in from countries where the pandemic is still raging, such as the United States and Britain.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority shared that it has dispatched the seventh tranche of protective equipment to 49 hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the PDMA, the equipment includes n-95 masks, surgical face masks, protective suits and gowns. It added that the equipment was distributed according to the NDMA’s guidelines.
The National Command and Operations Centre reported on Sunday that its teams all over Pakistan registered over 7,800 SOPs violation in the last 24 hours.
The NCOC has formed dedicated teams across all provinces including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad to ensure that health instruction/guidelines are followed.
China reported six new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, three more than the previous day.
Five of the new cases, recorded by late Saturday, involved travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website.
The total number of infections in China, where the virus first emerged late last year, stands at 83,036. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remains at 4,634.
Thailand on Sunday reported eight new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, taking its total to 3,112 infections and 58 deaths since the outbreak began in January.
The new cases were returnees— five from the United Arab Emirates, two from Kuwait and one from India— and were in quarantine, where most of Thailand's recent cases have been detected, said a government spokesperson.
Thailand has recorded zero new deaths for 13 days in a row.
Confirmed cases in the country jumped to 98,943 in the country after new cases were detected in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the national dashboard, 656 new cases were reported in Islamabad and 30 cases each were recorded in GB and AJK in the last 24 hours.
The country also reported new deaths to take the death toll from the virus to 2,002.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 301 to 183,979, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.
The reported death toll rose by 22 to 8,668, the tally showed.
China will increase international cooperation if it succeeds in developing a novel coronavirus vaccine, the science and technology minister said on Sunday.
China would make a vaccine a "global public good" when it is ready, the minister, Wang Zhigang, told a news conference in Beijing.
Global cases of the novel coronavirus topped 7 million as case numbers surge in Brazil and India, according to a Reuters tally.
About 30% of those cases, or 2 million infections, are in the United States. Latin America has the second-largest outbreak with over 15% of cases.
Globally, deaths from the novel coronavirus are approaching 400,000.
The United States accounts for about one-quarter of all fatalities but deaths in South America are rapidly rising.
The United States has the highest death toll in the world at almost 110,000. Fatalities in Brazil are rising rapidly and the country may overtake the United Kingdom to have the second-largest number of deaths in the world.
Brazil reported an additional 904 coronavirus deaths and 27,075 new cases over the last 24 hours, data released by the health ministry showed late on Saturday.
The Latin American nation has registered 35,930 total coronavirus deaths and 672,846 confirmed cases.
British places of worship will reopen for individual prayer from June 15, after being closed to the public in March as part of the coronavirus lockdown, government minister Robert Jenrick said on Saturday.
"Thank you to all the faith leaders who are working to ensure this is done safely," said Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.