ISLAMABAD: Dismissing the possibility of a blanket lockdown across Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday in a statement said the country cannot afford another lockdown and asked the provinces to ensure effective smart lockdown measures against the deadly pandemic that has wreaked havoc across the country.

The coronavirus positivity rates shared by the PM suggested that Sindh had highest 13.25 percent Covid-19 positivity rate followed by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with 10.79 percent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had KP 9.25 percent, Balochistan had 6.41 percent, Islamabad 5.84 percent, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 4.81 percent while Punjab with highest number of Covid-19 related country had the lowest 3.59 percent Covid-19 positivity rate.

The PM's comments came as 58 more deaths reported were in country (till Sunday) evening and the number of confirmed fatalities due to Covid-19 reached 8,361 and 3,308 fresh cases surfaced in 24 hours.

Till Sunday evening, the number of coronavirus related deaths in the federal capital was recorded at 340 with 32,414 confirmed cases, according to data issued by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The highest number of Covid-19 related deaths was recorded in Punjab with 3,162 fatalities and the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases was 122,995, NCOC data suggested.

Sindh had second highest number of 3,011 fatalities and 182,473 active coronavirus cases.

KP witnesses 1,404 Covid-19 related deaths and 49,220 active cases, the NCOC data revealed. AJK had 177 deaths and 7,278 coronavirus cases. Balochistan had 169 deaths and 17,440 active coronavirus cases. GB saw 98 deaths with 4,179 active coronavirus cases recorded till Sunday evening, NCOC data suggested.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020