Coronavirus cases in Pakistan surged past 25,000 on Friday, just hours before the government was due to lift lockdown measures, with the country reporting some of the biggest daily increases in new infections in the world. Officials reported 1,764 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours on Friday, taking the total to 25,837. After reporting just a handful of COVID-19 cases in late February, Pakistan's numbers began to surge from mid-March. It has reported an average of just over 1,000 cases and around 27 deaths per day for the past week, according to a Reuters tally based on official data. Schools will stay shut until mid-July and a decision on reopening intercity transport would be made at a later, unspecified, date.

Source: The Hindu May 08, 2020 03:45 UTC