ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan moved close to 4,000 on Tuesday as the country reported 577 new cases, its highest daily tally to date.

The total number of cases is now 3,918, while four fatalities over the past 24 hours raised the death toll to 54, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The ministry said 28 of the total patients are in critical condition, while 429 people have recovered across the country.

A total of 39,183 people have been tested in the country of over 200 million people, with 3,088 tests conducted over the past 24 hours.

With 1,918 cases, the northeastern Punjab province, which accounts for more than half of the country’s population, is the worst-hit area in Pakistan.

The southern Sindh province has 932 cases, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 500 cases, and southwestern Balochistan province has 202 cases, according to the ministry’s data.

The northern Gilgit Baltistan region accounts for 211 of the country’s total cases, while the capital Islamabad has 83, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir has 18 cases so far.

Since appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 184 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Over 1.35 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the global death toll nearing 76,000, and more than 289,000 recoveries.