Pakistan confirms 348 new coronavirus cases

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday confirmed some 342 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, raising the tally to 5,716, the country’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The country's number of deaths from coronavirus reached 100 as four more patients lost battle for their lives in southern Sindh, and northeastern Punjab provinces.

Nine doctors at a government-run hospital in Punjab's Multan district tested positive for COVID-19 -- the highest number of coronavirus cases involving medical professionals in a single day.

Dr. Mustafa Kamal Pasha, the vice chancellor of Nishtar Medical University Hospital, told reporters that 20 doctors, and three paramedics of his hospital had so far tested positive for coronavirus, who had been "isolated".

Over 100 medical professionals across the country have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the outbreak, according to the country's medical association.

Of the total, over 50% cases have been reported from Punjab, the country's most populous province -- home to 120 million people.

Sindh is the second worst-hit province, where over 1,500 coronavirus cases have been reported.

Some 1,378 patients have so far recovered, according to official statistics.

After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The virus has infected nearly 1.93 million people worldwide, while more than 120,400 have died and close to 462,000 have recovered from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.