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Today's Paper | March 18, 2026

Published 22 May, 2020 08:15am

Covid-19 cases may increase by 15-20pc next week

While health authorities conducted the highest number of coronavirus tests in a single day, they anticipate a 15-20 per cent rise in daily cases over the next week across the country due to lifting of the lockdown.

According to data released by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) issued, 15,346 tests of Covid-19 were conducted during the last 24 hours — 6,164 in Sindh, 5,439 in Punjab, 1,644 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,331 in Islamabad. Overall, 429,600 tests have so far been conducted.

Moreover, 2,132 new cases of coronavirus and 42 deaths were reported in a single day. As many as 350 patients are in critical condition and 10,900 have been admitted to 726 hospitals.

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