ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz said coronavirus is a global reality, not a product of any mind and the court has also issued its ruling regarding the matter.

The federal minister said in his tweet on Friday that the opposition parties should now demonstrate responsibility and not commit enmity with people. Protecting the health of people is the government’s top priority, he stressed.

Shibli Faraz said the opposition leaders and organizers of the public gatherings will be responsible if, God forbid, valuable lives are lost due to the pandemic.

On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 36 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 368,665. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 7,561.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 2,738 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Punjab has overtaken Sindh in most number of casualties.

Till now 159,752 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 112,893 in Punjab, 43,359 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16,642 in Balochistan, 25,719 in Islamabad, 5,806 in Azad Kashmir and 4,494 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Furthermore 2,811 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 2,780 in Sindh, 1,319 in KP, 158 in Balochistan, 266 in Islamabad, 134 in Azad Kashmir and 93 in GB.

Pakistan has so far conducted 5,098,291 coronavirus tests and 42,909 in the last 24 hours. 327,542 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,517 patients are in critical condition. NNI