ISLAMABAD, Mar 26 : The national tally of total active COVID-19 cases on Friday recorded 40,120 with 4,368 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 2,170 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours.

Sixty-three corona patients have died during past 24 hours, 60 of whom were under treatment in hospital and three out of the hospital in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

During the last 24 hours most of the deaths had occurred in the Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Out of the total 63 deaths occurred during last 24 hours, 22 of the deceased had died on ventilators during their treatment.

The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 65 percent, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 62 percent, Gujranwala 60 percent and Lahore 54 percent.

The maximum Oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of COVID patient) was also occupied in four major areas of Gujrat 95 percent, Gujranwala 85 percent, Peshawar 73 percent and ICT 49 percent.

Around 380 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.

Some 42,418 tests were conducted across the country on Thursday, including 8,506 in Sindh, 17,315 in Punjab, 8,214 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 6,733 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 699 in Balochistan, 314 in GB, and 637 in AJK.

Around 591,145 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio of the affected patients.

Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 645,356 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 12,095, Balochistan 19,427, GB 4,983, ICT 54,347, KP 82,677, Punjab 207,765 and Sindh 264,062.

About 14,091 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 4,486 perished in Sindh where four deaths occured in hospital during past 24 hours.

6,142 in Punjab had died with 43 deaths occured in past 24 hours. 40 of them in the hospital and three out of hospital. 2,260 in KP where 14 of them died in hospital on Thursday, 555 in ICT among one death in hospital during past 24 hours,  205 in Balochistan, 103 in GB and 340 in AJK among one of them succumbed to the deadly virus in hospital on Thursday.

A total of 9,976,791 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 631 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities. Some 3,333 corona patients were admitted in hospitals across the country.