ISLAMABAD, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) — Pakistan has recorded 414 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths, bringing the total tally to 1,285,254 cases including 28,737 deaths, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Wednesday.

The NCOC, a department leading Pakistan‘s campaign against the pandemic, said that 22,028,156 tests for COVID-19 have so far been conducted in the Asian country. It also reported there are a total of 1,242,354 patients recovered from COVID-19 and 14,163 active cases currently in the country, including 896 in critical condition.

Pakistan‘s southern Sindh province is the hardest hit region amid the pandemic, with 475,820 coronavirus infections confirmed, followed by the eastern Punjab province with 443,185 infections. Local media quoting official sources reported on Wednesday morning that the Pakistani government, in response to the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, has decided to start administering booster vaccine doses to health workers, people aged 50 and above, and those having a weak immune system.