Pakistan records lowest daily count of COVID-19 in four months

Pakistan on Sunday reported 213 new coronavirus cases, its lowest daily count in more than four months.

The country reported its first case of the deadly virus on February 26 and went into a three-week lockdown in late March. In the subsequent months, the caseload kept climbing, peaking at 6,825 new cases in a single day on June 13. While it recorded 153 deaths, its highest to date, on June 19.

However, in the last month, Pakistan's daily infections and fatalities have dropped significantly. On August 30, it recorded only 213 new cases in a day, and six deaths across the country, while it sampled 18,017 tests.

The August 30 figure is the lowest tally since April 10, when 186 new infections were reported in a day.

Recently, Dr Faisal Sultan, the senior most health official in Pakistan, who was recently appointed the prime minister’s advisor on COVID-19, told the Telegraph that while the decline is a promising sign for Pakistan, he remains cautious.

“At the end of the day I keep reminding people that this is like smouldering embers and the embers are there. You provide them with fuel and with a little bit of oxygen, they will flare up,” he said.