LAHORE: The COVID-19 pandemic claimed another 16 lives while 573 new cases were reported in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

According to the data shared by the spokesperson for the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PP&SHD) ,the number of coronavirus cases in the province reached 150,889 while total deaths were recorded 4,476.

The PP&SHD confirmed that 323 new cases were reported in Lahore, five in Sheikhupura, six in Nankana Sahib, 28 in Rawalpindi,one in Attock, one in Chakwal, three in Jehlum, five in Gujranwala, two in Mandi Bahauddin, 15 in Sialkot, three in Narowal, seven in Gujrat, 60 in Faisalabad, 11 in Toba Tek Singh, two in Jhang, three in Chineot, 24 in Sargodha, three in Mianwali, 19 in Multan,10 in Khanewal,one in Lodharan, one in Layyah, five in Rajanpur, six in Rahimyar Khan,15 in Bahawalpur, three in Bahawalnagar, three in Pakpatan and three cases were reported in Sahiwal district during the last 24 hours.

The Punjab health department conducted 2,740,874 tests for the COVID-19 so far while 135,425 confirmed cases had been recovered in the province.

The Punjab health department urged the masses to follow SOPs for their protection and cover their faces with masks besides washing their hands with soap several times in a day to protect themselves from the COVID-19.