(Karachi) At least 977 people contracted coronavirus infection while 17 more fell prey to the disease during 24 hours, as per statistics issued by National Command and Operation Centre stated on Sunday.

As per details, tests of 27,665 people were conducted while the figure of patients recovered from the virus has reached 314,555.

So far, coronavirus disease has claimed lives of 6,823 people. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 333,970 cases were detected, including Sindh reporting 145,851, Punjab 104,271, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 39,564, Balochistan 15,920, Islamabad 19,970, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 4,133, and Gilgit Baltistan 4,261.

A total of 4,458,890 corona tests have been conducted so far, while 648 corona patients admitted in hospitals across the country are said to be in critical condition.

Earlier, the NCOC issued a lockdown warning and called for better compliance with Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in wake of increase in the country's positivity rate, virus-related deaths and hospital admissions.

The forum noted that the positivity ratio had risen which is 40 percent higher while deaths were also increasing. It also noted that Muzaffarabad, Hyderabad, Karachi and Gilgit-Baltistan have a higher positivity ratio along with other areas across the country.

The NCOC also launched a Whatsapp number for registration of COVID-19 related violations by the public..

As part of the service, people can report any violations related to COVID-19 SOPs like non wearing of mask, non-adherence to social distancing, over-crowding at public places etc.