Pakistan reports 650 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 3 (ANI): Pakistan has reported 650 new COVID-19 cases with two more deaths, the country's ministry of health said on Sunday.
The tally of infected people increased to 1,537,947 after adding the new cases, Xinhua reported citing the data released by the ministry.
According to the ministry's statistics, a total of 30,401 people died from COVID-19 in Pakistan, with two more deaths recorded on Saturday.
Currently, 138 active cases are in critical condition in the South Asian country, reported Xinhua.
Amid fears of a new wave of coronavirus, experts advocated mask-wearing indoors in cities reporting cases that constitute over 5 per cent positivity. They also stressed vigilant watch through good surveillance and testing, vaccination with emphasis on boosters and communication about rising risk, especially in urban settings.
Pakistan is currently witnessing a new surge in coronavirus cases and amid this, the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also tweaked its mask mandates where now the masks are mandatory again for domestic flights with immediate effect.
Pakistan reported 694 new COVID-19 cases on July 1 with a subsequent rise to nearly 800 on Saturday.
The federal government decided to "fully activate" the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) earlier this week in order to curb the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
Over rising concerns of a surge in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued directives to revive Pakistan's coronavirus response forum as the premier ordered district and provincial authorities to implement strict measures and take stringent steps to keep the deadly virus at bay. (ANI)