Coronavirus cases in Pakistan cross 64,000-mark, death toll reaches 1,317

Pakistani nationals, who were stranded in India following the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown, sit inside a mini bus before crossing the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, some 35 kms from Amritsar on May 27, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Pakistan's coronavirus cases on Friday reached 64,028 with 2,636 new patients while the death toll climbed to 1,317 after 57 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.

The Ministry of National Health Services reported that 25,309 cases were diagnosed in Sindh, 22,964 in Punjab, 8,842 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3,928 in Balochistan, 2,100 in Islamabad, 658 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 227 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

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On the positive side, the ministry said, 22,305 patients have been recovered so far from the virus.

The authorities conducted 11,931 coronavirus tests during the last 24 hours, taking the number of tests done so far to 520,017.

Meanwhile, a senior journalist died on Thursday due to the coronavirus in Peshawar, making him the first media casualty of the virus in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

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And two employees of Radio Pakistan, including a studio engineer and a veteran news reader, died due to the coronavirus.

The trajectory showed that the number was steadily going up with authorities fearing a rise in cases in the wake of the easing of lockdown before Eid which was observed in the country on Sunday.