The Ministry of Health on Saturday said that it has registered 349 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total positive cases to 6,402.

According to the Health Ministry, 15 people lost their lives over the past 24 hours and 32 more recovered. The known death toll from coronavirus is now 168 deaths.

The total number of recoveries is 745.

The new cases, according to the ministry, were reported in Kabul (126), Paktia (56), Nangarhar (37), Balkh (31), Herat (29), Kandahar (10), Logar (10), Baghlan (11), Laghman (8), Badghis (5), Takhar (7), Sar-e-Pul (8), Wardak (1), Kunduz (3), Jawzjan (5), Panjshir (1) and Bamiyan (1).

Health officials have again called on Afghans to take the virus seriously to curb its further spread.

This comes after the lockdown was eased in cities including Mazare-e-Shari in northern Balkh province.

So far, 21,969 people have been tested in the country.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 globally is more than 307,736, and 4,543,975 have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.