New Delhi: Pakistan has surpassed China, the epicentre of Covid-19, after logging total number of 85,246 Coronavirus cases.

As many as 4,688 new cases of coronavirus were reported in last 24 hours, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 85,264, Pak health ministry said.

China with 84,160 patients has been placed at 18th position, one step lower than Pakistan, according to the data of Johns Hopkins University.

The coronavirus-related death toll has increased by 82 to 1,770, and the number of recoveries reached 30,128, according to the authorities.

The Sindh province, with nearly 33,000 cases, is the most affected and is followed by the Punjab province, which registered over 31,000 cases.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 11,373 cases, Balochistan 5,224, Islamabad 3,544, Gilgit-Baltistan 824 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir reported 285 cases of the viral disease.

Live with virus: Pak PM after lifting lockdown

Pakistan lifted a two-month-long coronavirus lockdown on May 9, about two weeks before the Eid al-Fitr festival. Transport and most businesses have re-opened but cinemas, theatres and schools remain closed. However, that doesn’t seem to have paid off as Coronavirus cases keep on burgeoning at a fast pace.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said despite rising infections and deaths, the country would need to learn to “live with” the virus to avert pushing tens of millions living on daily wages into destitution.

The country couldn’t afford to match the losses incurred during the lockdown as many other countries had done, Pak PM Imran Khan said in a televised address.

“This virus will spread more. I have to say it with regret that there will be more deaths,” Mr Khan said. “If people do take care, they can live with the virus.”