Islamabad: The COVID-19 death toll in Pakistan has increased to 343 with the emergence of 26 fatalities in 24 hours, the highest single-day jump, health authorities said.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Security Moeed Yusuf told the media that besides the new 26 deaths, there were 44 infected people in critical condition, Dawn news reported on Thursday. However, he said the mortality rate was only 2.1 percent in Pakistan as compared to around 7 percent in other countries.

"Moreover, 80 percent of the deceased were over 50 years old and 70 percent of the overall victims were suffering from some other critical diseases (such as cancer, heart problem and diabetes)," he added.

As of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases in the country stood at 15,521. Punjab province is the hardest-hit with 5,827 cases, closely followed by Sindh at 5,695.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to bring back 7,500 overseas Pakis�tanis in the first week of May.

"Our major focus will be on the Gulf states as thousands of Pakistanis have become jobless or their visas have expired. So they will be brought back from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Estates. Some flights will be operated from Sudan, Kenya and the UK," Dawn news quoted Yusuf as saying.

Moreover, at the request of Afghanistan, the government decided to allow export of non-essential goods along with essential items to the neighbouring country, he added.