Islamabad: Pakistan has reported one death and 541 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest since March 11 when it recorded 571 positive cases. 

According to the figures released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, an uptick in new COVID-19 cases in Pakistan consistently continues as the country reported over 500 new daily cases for the first time in three months. 

Following the situation, the health ministry said that wearing mask has been made mandatory on all domestic flights, railways and public transport.  

The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,535,144 across Pakistan after adding the fresh cases.  

March 23 was the first day without any recorded deaths in Pakistan since the pandemic took hold in 2020. Official death figures are typically lower at weekends and holidays because of a lag in reporting.  

The health authorities have advised the people to restart following COVID related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) such as wearing face masks, sanitizing hands, and maintaining social distance.

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) will announce the reserved verdict on pleas against the election of Hamza Shahbaz as Chief Minister of Punjab.

According to details, a five-member larger bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan resumed hearing the pleas today.

During the hearing, the bench sought arguments from Hamza’s lawyer that whether the Supreme Court’s verdict on the presidential reference related to defecting lawmakers applies to past events.

Hamza’s counsel maintained that the ruling doesn’t apply to past events unless the apex court itself says so.

Later, the court reserved the verdict and will announce it tomorrow at 12:30 pm.

In a previous hearing, the high court had hinted at holding fresh election for the post of Punjab’s chief minister under April 16 circumstances, when incumbent Hamza Shahbaz was elected in a poll on a court order. 

US Open champion Emma Raducanu crashed out of Wimbledon on Wednesday, losing her second-round match against Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3 to the disappointment of the British home crowd.

The 10th seed, who was troubled by a side strain in the run-up to the Grand Slam, was broken five times in the match on Centre Court by her French opponent, ranked 55 in the world.

Raducanu, 19, was on the back foot early in the contest after being broken in her first service game and won just 45 percent of points on her first serve.

Garcia, fresh from winning on grass at Bad Homberg, hit 25 winners in an impressive display.

"Emma is a huge player and in her home tournament and she proved she can do very well on the big stage," said Garcia.

"I really enjoyed playing on Centre Court, it was my first time and very special."

Raducanu has struggled with a string of minor injuries since her sensational win at Flushing Meadows last year.

She has also come under scrutiny over her failure to settle on a long-term coach.

SOURCE: AFP