The countrywide tally of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has jumped to 160,118 after 5,358 new infections were detected in the country over the past 24 hours while 118 more people succumbed to the deadly disease.

So far, 60,138 cases have been detected in Punjab, 59,983 in Sindh, 19,613 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8,794 in Balochistan, 9,637 in Islamabad, 740 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,213 in Gilgit Baltistan, according to data released by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

With 118 more Covid-19 related fatalities recorded over the past 24 hours, the number of people dying from the disease in the country has soared to 3,093. A total of 5,358 new cases were detected when 31,500 tests were conducted during this period.

Earlier, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza had said there is no effective treatment for the novel coronavirus in the world so far.

He said recent research shows that one third of severely affected patients can survive by using medicine, Dexamethasone. He, however, added this medicine can only be used for critical patients and urged the people not to use it without doctor’s advice.

The special assistant urged the people to follow SOPs to contain the spread of coronavirus.