ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Covid-19 tally jumped to 312,806 after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) reported 543 new cases on Thursday. The virus claimed five more lives during the last 24 hours, taking the country’s death toll to 6,484. Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir collectively reported 72 Coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours. According to the official data, Islamabad reported 30 cases, GB 9 cases and AJK reported 33 cases during the last 24 hours. Punjab has reported 101 virus cases and one death during the last 24 hours. The provincial tally has risen to 99,479 while the death toll is 2,235.  Meanwhile, Pakistan reported 616 Coronavirus recoveries during the last 24 hours, according to the government’s portal for tracking the spread of the disease in the country. With the new cases, the total has risen to 297,497 while the recovery rate is 95.1 percent.

 According to the officials, Punjab’s infection rate is relatively lower than that in other provinces because of the increase in medical facilities. Meanwhile, micro-smart lockdowns have begun in Karachi. After as many as 22 new cases were reported in a single union council in West district of the port city, the Sindh government decided to impose micro-smart lockdowns in the city’s virus hotspots.  The move came after the NCOC expressed concern over increase in Covid-19 cases in Karachi, which accounted for nearly half of the new cases registered countrywide on Tuesday.  The NCOC said in its daily update that the country registered 747 new cases on Tuesday, out of which at least 365 cases were reported in Karachi. One more Covid-19 death was reported in Balochistan during the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 146.