According to the data updated by the Health Ministry of Pakistan late Friday night, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has risen to 2,547 in the country, with 37 deaths reported.
According to the data, the most populated eastern Punjab province is the worst-hit area with 977 cases, followed by 783 cases in southern Sindh province.
The number of cases reached 343 in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 190 in north Gilgit-Baltistan region, 175 in southwest Balochistan province, and 68 in the capital Islamabad.
Sindh province recorded 12 deaths followed by Punjab with 11 causalities. The data showed that 126 people were also discharged from hospitals after recovery which is almost 5 percent of the total confirmed cases.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan decided to bolster the construction sector by announcing a package, including cash support, waivers, subsidies and high rebates in the terms of sales tax, capital gain tax and withholding tax, to mitigate the COVID-19 impact on the country's economy.
The government opened the construction industry under strict medical guidelines so that the daily wagers and laborers can earn their livelihoods. Khan said around 90 million Pakistanis are facing severe financial issues due to the lockdown measures.
Last month, the government also unveiled a COVID-19 relief package of 1,200 billion rupees (7.21 billion U.S. dollars) to the poor and daily-wagers, but economists said the support was not enough to counter the issues of unemployed people.
