ISLAMABAD – At least 148 people lost their lives due to the third wave ofthe novel coronavirus infection while 5,499 fresh cases have reported inthe last 24 hours, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) saidWednesday.

According to the latest figures from the National Command and OperationCentre (NCOC), the death toll has surged to 16,600 while the number ofconfirmed cases stands at 772,381.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 5,488 patients have recovered from thedeadly virus while the total recoveries stand at 672,619. As of Wednesday,the total count of active cases was recorded at 83,162, and the positivityrate soared at 11.62 percent.

At least 274,196 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 276,535 inPunjab 108,462 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 70,984 in Islamabad, 21,127 inBalochistan, 15,873 in Azad Kashmir, and 5,204 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Moreover, 7,664 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab4,559 in Sindh, 2,953 in KP, 649 in Islamabad, 446 in Azad Kashmir, 225 inBalochistan, and 104 in Gilgit Baltistan.

The health facilities across the country conducted 47,301 coronavirusdetection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 11,319,83since the first case was reported.