LAHORE: As many as 22 more critical patients of the coronavirus died, while 540 new cases of infection surfaced in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

Of the new positive cases, 201 were reported in Lahore, 96 in Rawalpindi, 42 in Bahawalpur and 23 in Multan.

Other cases were reported in Sargodha, Attock, Nankana Sahib, Sialkot, Hafizabad, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal, Faisalabad, Kasur, Khushab, Gujrat, Pakpattan, Toba Tek Singh, Gujranwala, DG Khan, Bhakkar, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan etc.

The total number of deaths in Punjab reached 3,137, while that of the confirmed cases of the virus 122,293, according to the official update on Saturday.

The figures further showed that the Punjab government performed 13,015 tests during the last 24 hours across the province.

Provincial capital Lahore still reported most of positive cases -- 60,012, while 1,245 deaths occurred during the both spikes of the Covid-19 in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2020