ISLAMABAD, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan witnessed a decline in new COVID-19 cases as less than 1,000 daily infections were reported on Friday, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Saturday.
The country reported 893 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the nationwide tally of such cases to 1,263,664, according to the NCOC, a department leading Pakistan's campaign against the pandemic.
The death toll rose to 28,252 after 24 more people succumbed to the virus on Friday, said the NCOC.
Pakistan's southern Sindh province remained the most affected region of the country in terms of the number of cases, with 465,175 infections, followed by the eastern Punjab province which has reported 437,572 confirmed cases.
In addition, 13,848 more people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of recoveries to 1,208,438.
On Friday, Pakistan further eased coronavirus restrictions, allowing the reopening of cinemas and shrines for fully vaccinated citizens across the country.
Also, the one-day weekly closure of businesses has been abolished. The number of guests allowed to attend indoor weddings also increased from 200 to 300 and from 300 to 500 for outdoor weddings, according to a statement from the NCOC. Enditem
