ISLAMABAD : Pakistan reported 2,697 fresh cases of the COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections reported in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 918,936.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the death toll climbed to 20,736 after 56 more people succumbed to the deadly virus during the same period.

A total of 55,965 samples were tested, out of which 2,697 were declared positive, the NCOC said. The positivity ratio of infections was recorded at 4,81 per cent, it added.

2,620 more people recovered, taking the tally of patients recovering from the disease to 839,322. There are a total of 4,017 critical cases in the country at present, the NCOC said.

Thus far, Punjab has reported 339,073 infections, Sindh 316,752, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 132,170, Islamabad 81,116, Balochistan 25,083, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,170 and Gilgit Baltistan 5,572.

On Saturday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) granted permission to the provinces to begin regular classes of matric and intermediate students from May 31 after a sharp decline in the COVID cases.