Pakistan on Wednesday has reported 5,499 new cases and 148 COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours as the country struggles with the third wave of coronavirus.

According to statistics shared by National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), the country's nerve center for unified efforts against coronavirus, 47,301 coronavirus tests were taken, 5,499 came out positive, and 148 deaths were reported countrywide in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 4,528 critical patients of COVID-19 admitted at different hospitals in the country. And the reported positivity rate is 11.62%.

Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa are the two most adversely affected regions of the country in this ongoing wave as the positivity rate of both regions has skyrocketed. 1,153 new coronavirus cases and 33 new virus-related casualties were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last 24 hours whereas 2,969 new cases and 103 deaths were reported in Punjab.

KP's health and finance minister Taimur Khan Jhagra while sharing the latest statistics of the province via Twitter, urged the public to strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place by the local authorities so that we can get rid of this infectious disease as soon as possible.

"1153 confirmed covid cases in KP yesterday; 14.4% positivity. 13669 active cases in all, & sadly 33 deaths. 82 patients on vents, 166 in ICUs, 1020 in HDUs & 625 on low flow oxygen. Protect this capacity. Protect those working round the clock to save lives. Wear a mask," Jhagra said in a tweet and added, "We may have been able to plateau to the curve of the 3rd wave to a weekly cycle of between 11% - 15%, but we need to work much much harder in bending it and bringing it down. This will only happen when the media and the public work with us in continually improving SOP compliance."

The country's total number of confirmed active cases stands at 83,162. Pakistan has so far recorded 772,381 confirmed cases, 16,600 deaths, and a total of 672,619 recoveries from the novel disease.