Pakistan on Tuesday has reported 3,377 new cases and 161 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, 37,587 coronavirus tests were taken countrywide, of which 3,377 came out positive.

There are currently 5,326 critical patients of COVID-19 admitted at different hospitals in the country. And the reported positivity rate is 8.98%.

With these latest statistics, the country's total number of confirmed active cases stands at 86,151. Pakistan has so far recorded 837,523 confirmed cases, 18,310 deaths, and a total of 733,062 recoveries from the novel disease.

Most active cases are reported in Punjab (42,890) followed by Sindh (16,067), and Islamabad (11,866). There are currently 11,640, 2,164, 1,411, and 113 active cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan respectively.

Pakistan begins vaccinating people over the age of 40:

Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Faisal Sultan on Monday said that the vaccination of people aged above forty years has been started from today.

Briefing media persons in Islamabad, he said one hundred and fifty thousand vaccines are being administered on daily basis and our target is to take to three hundred thousand.

The Special Assistant said the government has pursued a well-thought-out strategy to procure the vaccine and so far deals for thirty million doses have been signed, terming it as satisfactory.

He said nineteen million doses will be received by June this year. He clarified that we are not relying on donations but ninety percent of the vaccine doses are being purchased.

Dr Faisal Sultan said that seventy million people will be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of this year.

The Special Assistant said that local filling of single-dose CanSino vaccine is about to begin in the country. He said that three million doses of this vaccine will be prepared at the National Institute of Health per month. This, he said, will reduce our dependence on the imported doses.

Faisal Sultan urged the people to continue to observe the SOPs to check the spread of the virus.