LAHORE (Nationaltimesnews) – Pakistan has reported 40 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 619,259. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 13,757 on Friday.According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 3,449 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Most numbers of casualties have been reported in Punjab.Till now 262,503 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 193,054 in Punjab, 77,972 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19,290 in Balochistan, 50,096 in Islamabad, 11,377 in Azad Kashmir and 4,967 in Gilgit-Baltistan.Pakistan has so far conducted 9,691,087 coronavirus tests and 42,845 in the last 24 hours. 578,314 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 2,064 patients are in critical condition.