Islamabad, Apr 23 (IANS): Pakistan is enduring another tough week as the country reported 144 new coronavirus deaths, raising the total death tally to 16,842 nationwide on Friday.

According to the latest data by the National Command and Operation Centre on its official web portal, 5,870 new coronavirus cases have been recorded, the Geo TV reported.

At least 53,818 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, out of which 5,870 came back positive.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus positivity rate in Pakistan stood at 10.90 per cent with 84,976 active cases across the country.

In addition to this, 682,290 people have recovered from the virus in the country so far.

According to the official portal, the total number of coronavirus patients in Sindh has reached 275,815 while 4,576 people have died so far.

In Punjab, the total number of Covid-19 patients is 282,469 and 7,799 people have died so far due to the virus while the total number of patients in Balochistan is 21,365 and the death toll has reached 227.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded a total of 110,875 virus patients, with 3,029 deaths, while in Azad Kashmir, 16,193 people have been infected with the virus and 455 people have died.

Keeping in view the worsening virus situation, sources have said that a complete lockdown might be imposed in cities where the rate of coronavirus positivity has exceeded 10 per cent.

If a full lockdown is imposed, business activities in designated cities will be suspended, while all offices will also be closed, the source said, adding that final approval for a lockdown will be given by the NCOC.