Active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan drop below 10,000

The number of active coronavirus cases in Pakistan has dropped below 10,000 for the first time after a months-long surge in the pandemic, official statistics said Tuesday.

According to the National Command and Operation Center, which leads the country's battle against COVID-19, the current caseload stands at 9,031.

The country recorded 450 new cases over the past 24 hours compared to an average 5,000 cases per day in May and June. The highest numbers in a single day were nearly 7,000 recorded in June.

With the new cases, the total number of infections has reached 293,711 with 672 of them in critical condition, the data showed.

Another nine patients lost the battle against the disease across the country in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 6,255.

Currently, Pakistan is following a strategy of locality-based lockdown in scores of hotspots in some 20 big cities to contain the virus spread.

According to the official statistics, the country has so far conducted nearly 2.5 million virus tests.