ISLAMABAD — Pakistan recorded more than two hundred COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday, as neighboring India is battling its own spike in cases.

A total of 201 new deaths were recorded on Tuesday, bringing the country's overall death toll from the virus to 17,530, according to official figures.

The previous highest daily death count was 157 recorded on April 23.

The death rate, the number of infections resulting in fatalities, hit the highest point since the start of the pandemic, reaching around 2.2 percent.

Pakistan recorded an additional 5,293 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Authorities say there are currently 88,207 active cases in the country.

More than 810,000 cases have been identified in Pakistan since the pandemic began, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Only around two million vaccinations have been administered in Pakistan, and the country has struggled to procure supplies to cover enough of its population. — Agencies