Pakistan COVID-19 Cases Top 206,000

Pakistan on Monday recorded 3,557 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with 49 new deaths, according to official data.

With the new cases the overall count rose to 206,512, putting the country at number 12 worldwide in terms of cases.

According to the Health Ministry, the figure marked a fall of almost 3,000 from the record high of 6,895 reached on June 13.

Fatalities have also decreased significantly over recent days, falling to 49 on Sunday from the record high of 153 on June 19.

The death toll in the country now stands at 4,167, while recoveries increased to 95,407, raising the overall recovery ratio from 42% to 46.2%, according to the ministry's data.

The over 220 million population South Asian country has conducted over 1.26 million tests so far.

Health experts believe the falling numbers are due to the locality-based lockdowns -- termed "smart lockdowns" by the government -- recently enforced in high-risk areas in 20 big cities.

However, local media reports suggest it could be because of reduced testing, with daily test numbers falling to less than 23,009 from over 32,000. -