Islamabad [Pakistan], July 1 : Pakistan reported 694 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, as the tally of infected people increased to 1,536,479, the country's ministry of health said on Friday.

According to the data released by the ministry, a total of 30,395 people died from COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more deaths recorded on Thursday, Geo News reported.

On Thursday, 17,640 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in Pakistan while the positivity rate stood at 3.93 per cent, National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) data showed Friday morning. This is the highest positivity ratio since February 19, when it was recorded at 4.15 per cent. However, no death has been reported during the last 24 hours across the country due to the virus.
According to Geo News, the federal government had decided to "fully activate" the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) earlier this week in order to curb the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
A statement from PM Office said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed concerns over the rising COVID-19 cases and issued directives to revive Pakistan's coronavirus response forum as the premier ordered district and provincial authorities to implement strict measures and take stringent steps to keep the deadly virus at bay.
Established inside the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) Secretariat in Islamabad, NCOC was set up in March 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to collect, analyse and process information.
NCOC is the entity in charge of Pakistan's COVID-19 efforts, policies and implementation and makes suggestions to the Prime Minister's National Coordination Committee for timely actions related to the national COVID-19 response, NHS official said, adding that it includes specialists from both the civil and military institutions.
Currently, there are 101 active cases that are in critical condition in the South Asian country.