Pakistan's COVID-19 cases go past 50,000 with record 2,603 new patients

Pakistan's coronavirus cases on Friday crossed the 50,000-mark after a record 2,603 more patients were diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease, the health ministry said.

The deadly contagion claimed the lives of 50 people in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,067, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

Out of the total 50,694 patients, Sindh reported 19,924 cases, Punjab 18,455, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 7,155, Balochistan 3,074, Islamabad 1,326, Gilgit-Baltistan 602 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 158 cases.

It also reported that so far 15,201 people have recovered from the malignant virus. In the past 24 hours, 1,064 people recovered from the novel coronavirus.

The authorities also carried out a record 16,387 tests, taking the total number of tests so far in the country to 445,987.

A special flight of Emirates carrying 251 stranded Pakistanis arrived at Islamabad International Airport from Dubai after Pakistan allowed the airline to operate special flights.

Officials said that all the passengers were shifted to different quarantine centres in Islamabad for 24 hours for medical tests related to the COVID-19.

The federal government has decided to restore international flights from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar. Officials said that the decision was taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan.