(Karachi) Pakistan has recorded 43 deaths due to the COVID-19 while 2,521 new cases have been reported in last 24 hours across the country, National Command and Operating Centre (NCOC) reported on Sunday.

With more fatalities, the total death tally due to the deadly disease has reached 10,951.

As per details, 2,521 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours while 2,373 patients are in critical condition. The total number of infections in the country now currently stands at 519,291.

Meanwhile, 41,191 tests were conducted across the country during this period. 473,639 people have recovered from the deadly disease while 7,367,622 samples have been tested thus far.

Earlier, the coronavirus positivity ratio in the country reached its highest level of more than 10 percent.

The National Command and Operation Centre stated that five major cities of the country, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Hyderabad and Peshawar were contributing 70 percent of coronavirus spread. The forum urged the public to follow SOPs and guidelines to curb spread of the disease.

On November 30, Planning Minister Asad Umar said that the NCOC has finalized its recommendations for procurement of coronavirus vaccine.

Pakistan has increased its funds allocated for purchasing Covid-19 vaccine to $250 million and signed non-disclosure agreements with various multinational companies. Under the agreement, the recipient country will not make details of the vaccine public.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Pakistan, making it the first coronavirus vaccine to get the green light for use in the South Asian country.

Pakistan, which is seeing rising numbers of coronavirus infections, said its vaccines would be procured from multiple sources. Approval has been given to get more than a million doses of Sinopharm’s vaccine from China, he said.