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In the past 24 hours, Pakistan has reported a record 6,397 new COVID-19 cases taking the total number of cases to date to 125,933. For the past few days, every day at least 4,000-5,000 cases are being reported daily in the country. Deaths tally in the past 24 hours is 107 taking the total fatalities due to the virus to 2,463 so far.

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As Pakistan eased lockdown, the public has started ignoring the gravity of the situation as SOPs are not being followed. Also, the public has pretty much started abandoning sanitizing habits they were strictly following in the early days of the pandemic. The result of these deeds is evident in the soaring new cases.

One factor is also that Pakistan has increased the testing capacity by almost 30,000. A couple of weeks ago it was around the 15,000 mark. In the past 24 hours, Pakistan tested 28,344 suspected cases. Experts say the testing capacity still needs to be increased.

—Representational Image

Pakistan and coronavirus are not nearly done yet, as the Prime Minister Imran Khan said this week :

"We expect our peak to come by the end of July or August and then we will witness a reduction in transmission of new cases."

 

PM Imran Khan (file photo)

So according to the government's projections, we are still a few weeks away from hitting the peak. It's a scary prospect. Thus, the public needs to take the virus seriously and rigorously follow the SOPs put in place by the authorities, wear masks in public, wash hands regularly, and go in public only when it's extremely important. Stay home, stay safe, stay covid-free.

—File Photo