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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 27,843 with 337 new cases reported today, according to the KP health department.
Eighteen more people died from the disease in the province — six in Peshawar, four in Lower Dir, three in Abbottabad, three in Swabi and one each in Mardan and Swat. KP's death toll now stands at 1,020.
49 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Balochistan, taking the provincial tally to 10,766, according to the Balochistan health directorate.
The province also registered one more death, with its death toll from the virus so far rising to 123.
The World Health Organisation has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 212,326 in 24 hours.
The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil and India, according to a daily report.
The previous WHO record for new cases was 189,077 on June 28. Deaths remained steady at about 5,000 a day.
The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended his decision to fly to Greece even though at that time the government advice was for UK nationals to avoid all but essential international travel.
Greek government officials confirmed on Thursday that Stanley Johnson had arrived, likely via Bulgaria, in the northern region of Pelion, where he has a holiday home. Johnson told reporters he was on a business trip.
“I don't know what the reaction of the British public [has been], I came here to have a quiet time to organise the house,” he said in comments to local reporters carried by Sky News, referring to measures to make the property Covid-19 secure for lettings.
A 54-year-old doctor has died of the coronavirus at Hyderabad’s Liaquat University Hospital (LUH), according to the hospital's Covid-19 spokesperson.
He was a resident of Tando Allahyar. With his death, Hyderabad's death toll from the virus so far has risen to 61.
Meanwhile, 111 new cases of the virus were reported in the city during the last 24 hours, according to a spokesperson for the district health office.
Jordan has begun putting electronic bracelets on travellers who have recently arrived in the kingdom to ensure that they observe home-quarantine against the spread of the coronavirus, an official said.
People arriving in Jordan must isolate for 14 days at hotels designated by the authorities on the shores of the Dead Sea, west of the capital Amman.
After that period, they must self-isolate for an additional 14 days at home, according to Nizar Obeidat, spokesman for Jordan's virus task force.
The Indian Open event on the European Tour has been cancelled because of the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament was initially postponed from March to an unspecified time later in 2020, but has now been scrapped following consultation with the European Tour and Asian Tour.
The European Tour is due to restart this month with six straight events in Britain.
Authorities in California say two more death row inmates have died from apparent complications of the coronavirus in the midst of an outbreak that has infected 40 per cent of inmates at San Quentin State Prison.
The corrections department said Scott Erskine and Manuel Machado Alvarez died on Friday.
Erskine was on death row for the 1993 murder of two boys, 9 and 13, in San Diego. Alvarez was there for a 1987 series of crimes that included rape, robbery, carjacking and murder in Sacramento.
Mexican officials will install health checkpoints at various entry points along its northern border this weekend, as both Mexican and US officials fear a surge of crossings for the July 4 holiday could spread the coronavirus.
Mexican consulates across the United States issued warnings last week on social media of the ramped-up measures scheduled for July 2 through July 5, and urged people to refrain from crossing for recreation or tourism.
According to Reuters, a ban on non-essential border travel has been in place since March in an attempt by both governments to limit coronavirus infections, yet cross-border traffic has been busy.
An Indian man says he paid about $4,000 for a bespoke gold face mask to protect him from the coronavirus raging in the country.
The precious metal covering weighs 60 grams (two ounces) and took craftsmen eight days to make, said businessman Shankar Kurhade, from the western city of Pune.
“It is a thin mask and has tiny pores that is helping me to breathe,” Shankar told AFP. “I am not sure if it will be effective to protect me from a coronavirus infection but I am taking other precautions,” he added.
Sindh has reported 1,585 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours, taking the provincial total to 92,306, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
The province has also reported 42 additional fatalities from the virus, taking the death toll to 1,501. Shah said that 1,480 people recovered during the last 24 hours. The total number of recovered patients in the province has risen to 52,388.
A spokesperson for the Sindh police has said that 325 more policemen tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two days, taking the total number to 1,670.
He added that 16 policemen have lost their lives to the virus so far. Of the 16 policemen, 14 were from Karachi while two were from Hyderabad.
The spokesperson added that 1,219 policemen are under treatment while 435 have recovered from the virus.
Indonesia has reported 1,447 new coronavirus infections, Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto said, taking the southeast Asian nation’s tally to 62,142.
The death toll rose to 3,089 after 53 more people died from the virus, Reuters quoted Yurianto as saying.
Iranians who do not wear masks will be denied state services and workplaces that fail to comply with health protocols will be shut for a week, President Hassan Rouhani said as he launched new measures to try to curb the coronavirus.
Iran has been battling the spread of the coronavirus, with the total number of cases hitting 237,878 today and a further 148 deaths bringing the country’s toll to 11,408, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Wearing masks becomes mandatory from Sunday in covered public places, Rouhani said on state television after tougher curbs were imposed in cities and towns in five provinces where the outbreak is rising after an easing of lockdowns from mid-April.
“Government employees should not serve people who do not wear masks and employees who do not wear them should be considered absentees and sent home,” said Rouhani.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has lifted lockdown from 89 areas of the province, the health department's focal person Dr Iftikharuddin said.
Lockdown restrictions have been lifted from eight areas in Peshawar, five in Mardan, 15 in Nowshera, 12 areas in Bajaur, eight in Abbottabad, five in Lower Dir, four in Buner and Charsadda each, three in Haripur, Swat and Malakand each, two in Upper Chitral, Upper Dir and Bannu each.
The focal person said that the government's 'smart lockdown' policy had resulted in an 80 per cent decline in the number of reported cases.
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Greece has announced another extension of a coronavirus lockdown on its teeming migrant camps, despite criticism it is misusing the pandemic to limit the movement of migrants.
The lockdown on camps began on March 21 and is now extended till July 19, the migration ministry said.
Migrants can leave the camps from 7am to 9pm only in groups of less than 10 and no more than 150 people per hour, it said.
Spain's northeastern Catalonia region has locked down an area with around 200,000 residents near the town of Lerida following a surge in cases of the new coronavirus.
The move came as the summer holiday started in Spain and the country began re-admitting foreign visitors from 12 countries outside the European union.
“We have decided to confine the del Segria zone following data confirming a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections,” Catalonia's regional president Quim Torra told reporters, adding that no one would be allowed to enter or leave the area.
The death rate for the novel coronavirus in Sindh is 1.61 per cent — the second-lowest across the country, provincial Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was told.
During a cabinet briefing, the CM noted that the national death rate is 2.5pc. He said that the Sindh government has improved its healthcare system and succeeded in lowering the number of deaths.
He further said that Sindh had the highest number of recovered patients in the country and currently, a majority of Covid-19 patients are undergoing treatment in the province.
Brazil registered 42,223 additional coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry has said, bringing the total tally to 1,539,081, the second-worst outbreak in the world behind the United States.
Reuters reported that the number of coronavirus deaths rose by 1,290 to 63,174.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has urged residents of the Japanese capital not to travel beyond its borders as new coronavirus infections topped 100 for a third day, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Tokyo confirmed 131 new cases of infections of the coronavirus today, NHK said.
According to Reuters, cases in Tokyo have risen to a two-month high, driven by the spread of the virus in the capital’s night spots. Of today's tally, 100 were people in their 20s and 30s, Kyodo news agency said, citing Koike.
Punjab health ministry has issued a notification detailing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are to be followed on Eidul Azha in order to minimise the spread of Covid-19.
The notification said that while the government issues safety guidelines every year, a more "comprehensive and focused approach" was required this year in order to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading. Following are the guidelines issued for the location and layout of cattle markets issued by the Punjab government:
cattle markets should be established at designated spots that are 2-5 kilometres outside city limits
number and size of the markets should depend upon cattle base and transport facilities
cattle markets must have
1 - sheds for animals in the business area
2 - management offices with ventilation
3 - medical camps
4 - spacious parking lots
5 - separate entry and exit points
management will be bound to ensure controlled entry
parking area should be marked for "appropriately distanced parking"
only two people per vehicle should be allowed in the market
elderly people and children are not to be allowed
people experiencing symptoms like fever, cough should avoid visiting cattle markets
"appropriately distanced queue" should be managed at all each entry point
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, while speaking about his experience after contracting the coronavirus, said that he would not wish it "even on his enemies".
At a press conference in Lahore, Rashid said: "This is a very serious and fearsome disease. There have been four attempts on my life and five of my colleagues were killed, I was never fearful. But I would not wish this virus even on my enemies. I pray for Shehbaz Sharif to recover as well."
Criticising the opposition for the "condition of the healthcare system", Rashid said that despite handling 14 ministries during his political career, he had been unable to get an injection that he needed for his treatment. "I could not get that injection even for Rs500,000. Thankfully, NDMA Chairperson Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal was able to get it for me."
India has recorded its highest singe-day spike of coronavirus cases, with over 22,000 new cases and 442 deaths, as infections rose in the western and southern parts of the country.
The western state of Maharashtra, home to the densely packed financial capital Mumbai, has the country's highest total, recording 6,364 fresh cases of the virus on Saturday and 198 deaths from Covid-19.
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Butchers in Gujrat district will have to undergo a Covid-19 test prior to Eidul Azha as the local health authorities have decided to allow slaughter of animals only by those butchers who will be tested negative.
Moreover, the public may be asked to let only those butchers who show the Covid-19 negative certificate slaughter their animals.
The health department has planned to establish 11 testing camps — five in Gujrat tehsil, four in Kharian and two in Sara-i-Alamgir — for conducting tests of butchers. The DC office has already conveyed to the respective assistant commissioners to prepare the lists of the butchers in their areas.
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Development Minister Asad Umar has advised people to take precautions and follow doctors' advice, saying that doing so will help keep them and their families safe.
"Wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, not hugging on Eid — this is what doctors are trying to make us understand. We saw that when we were careless, conditions worsened and then we saw improvement. If you take precautions and follow doctors' advice, then you and your family will remain safe. If you are careless, we will be punished for it," he cautioned.
Umar also paid tribute to NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal and his team for the way they were working on increasing healthcare capacity across Pakistan. He added that during the last two weeks, 189 beds had been added to hospitals in Islamabad.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz has said that the recovery of Covid-19 patients in Pakistan so far is "satisfactory" and shows that the government's policy to deal with the coronavirus was "correct".
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, he said that the number of laboratories that can conduct tests for the virus has reached 129, adding that the country is now able to produce its own equipment (such as ventilators) instead of importing them.
"Our bed capacity is adequate and I pray that a time never comes when we do not have enough beds for our [virus] patients. But this can only happen if we follow the government's instructions. If we do that, then these hospitals will be empty and the patients will be playing in fields.
"The government has announced a special package for medical workers. We will never abandon them. The government is aware of their dedication to their profession in these times and will continue facilitating them."
Australia’s second most-populous state, Victoria, has reported its biggest jump in coronavirus cases since late March, forcing it to expand stay-at-home orders to two more suburbs and sending nine public housing towers in a complete lockdown.
The southeastern state recorded 108 new cases, up from 66 on Friday and more than 70 new cases in each of the previous four days, forcing authorities to reimpose lockdowns in more than 30 suburbs earlier in the week.
“These numbers are a very real concern to all of us,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference.
Pakistan has reported 11,471 recoveries over the past 24 hours, the highest single-day jump in the country, according to the government's Covid-19 portal.
The total number of recovered cases in the country is now 125,094, while 2,460 patients are critical.
Previously, the highest single-day recoveries were recorded on June 12, when the government reported 9,809 recovered cases.
According to the official figures, there are 95,570 active cases in the country.
Islamabad and the federal territories collectively reported 163 new cases and two deaths, the government's Covid-19 portal said.
The federal capital has recorded one death and 97 cases, the lowest in the past month. GB recorded a dozen cases and no fatalities while AJK reported 54 cases and one death.
The tally of the capital, GB and AJK is:
Islamabad: 13,292 cases; 130 deaths
GB: 1,536 cases; 28 deaths
AJK: 1,214 cases; 34 deaths
Punjab's tally has crossed the 80,000 mark as the province recorded 1,341 new virus cases and 25 deaths, the government's Covid-19 portal said.
The total number of cases in Punjab is now 80,297 while the death toll is 1,844.
China has reported three new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 3, compared with five cases a day earlier, the health authority said.
Two of the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement, while the capital Beijing reported one new case. There were no new deaths.
The World Health Organisation has updated its account of the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis to say it was alerted by its own office in China, and not by China itself, to the first pneumonia cases in Wuhan, AFP reported.
A new chronology, published this week by the Geneva-based institution, indicates that it was the WHO office in China that on December 31 notified its regional point of contact of a case of “viral pneumonia” after having found a declaration for the media on a Wuhan health commission website on the issue.
The same day, WHO's epidemic information service picked up another news report transmitted by the international epidemiological surveillance network ProMed — based in the United States — about the same group of cases of pneumonia from unknown causes in Wuhan.
National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health has grilled Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza over the curtailment of Covid-19 testing and non-availability of oxygenated beds in hospitals.
According to sources, committee members gave a tough time to SAPM Zafar Mirza by asking thorny questions. At this, the PM’s aide got angry and told the committee members that they were giving the impression that the government was doing nothing to combat the deadly virus.
Mirza briefed the committee on the current coronavirus situation and efforts being made by the government to stop the spread of the disease in the country. He said the government had developed SOPs under the NCOC and ensured its enforcement through local administrations.
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Global coronavirus cases exceeded 11 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed more than half a million people in seven months.
The number of cases is more than double the figure for severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organisation.
The United States reported more than 55,400 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, a new daily global record as infections rose in a majority of states. Several U.S. governors halted plans to reopen their state economies in the face of a surge in cases.
Saudi Arabia has passed the grim milestone of 200,000 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, the health ministry said, weeks ahead of an annual Haj pilgrimage drastically cut back because of the pandemic.
The Gulf's worst-hit country has now 201,801 confirmed infections including 4,193 new cases today alone, and 1,802 deaths.
Over 140,000 of those infected have recovered.
Balochistan has reported 51 more cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the provincial tally to 10,717.
The death toll in the province currently stands at 122.
The World Health Organisation has called on countries hit by serious coronavirus outbreaks to “wake up” to the realities on the ground instead of bickering about them, and to “take control”.
“People need to wake up. The data is not lying. The situation on the ground is not lying,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told journalists in Geneva.
He insisted that “It is never too late in an epidemic to take control. “
The central Italian region of Lazio, fringing the capital Rome, has asked its large Bangladeshi community to undergo “blanket testing” for the coronavirus following a recent increase in the number of infections.
Lazio has reported some 8,000 cases since Italy’s Covid-19 outbreak emerged at the end of February, far fewer than in Lombardy and other northern regions.
However, the discovery of some recent infection clusters has authorities concerned, including among 10 Bangladeshis in the last few days, with the latest on Friday when a man returning from his South Asian homeland tested positive.
Lazio hosts around 37,000 of the 140,000 Bangladeshis in Italy, according to national statistics institute ISTAT. Around 32,000 of them live in the capital Rome.
The United Kingdom's death toll from confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus has risen by 137 to 44,131, government figures showed.
The total includes a revision for one death which had previously been counted twice.