Coronavirus cases rise to 237 in Pakistan, PM Khan says infection will spread further

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan sharply rose to 237 on Tuesday, amidst conflicting statements by authorities on the nation's first casualty due to the viral infection and Prime Minister Imran Khan's warning that the disease will spread further.

The Sindh province is the worst-hit with 172 cases, followed by 26 in Punjab, 16 each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, 5 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 2 in Islamabad, officials said.

According to Meeran Yousuf, media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 172 in Sindh province on Tuesday. Of the 172 patients, 134 are in Sukkar, 37 in Karachi and one in Hyderabad city.

Addressing the nation on the government's efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that the viral infection will spread further in the country.

"I want to tell you that this virus will spread. As you have seen, it will spread, as it is spreading in the world and especially in countries that are far advance than us," he said in the televised speech.

He said as part of government's measures to combat COVID-19, 9,00,000 people have been screened so far at airports across Pakistan.

Khan said the government rejected a proposal to close down cities as it will hit hard poor people "will die of hunger".

He said the government has set up a National Coordination Committee, supported by a core panel of medical experts, to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Khan said the government has also set up a committee to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, there were conflicting statements on the first coronavirus death in Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid in a press conference in Lahore confirmed Pakistan's first casualty due to the novel coronavirus.

"One COVID-19 patient who was brought from Hafizabad, some 150 km from Lahore, died here on Tuesday," he said.

In a statement, the National Command and Control Centre also confirmed the death.

According to the statement, the patient, who came from Muscat on March 15 and was tested positive, was admitted to Lahore's Mayo Hospital where he died on Tuesday.

However, later in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar rejected the statements.

The chief minister in a tweet said according to the test report, the person did not die of coronavirus.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said all medical facilities of the armed forces were "operationalised and geared up to meet any eventuality to deal with the pandemic".

A central testing laboratory has already been set up at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in Rawalpindi, it said, adding that COVID-19 help desks have been established at all military hospitals.

The army chief has "directed all commanders to take maximum necessary measures to assist civil administration".

As the country's already fragile economy came under more pressure due to the viral outbreak, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday announced to cut its policy rate by 75 basis points to 12.50 from 13.25 to tackle the economic challenges.

Among other things, Pakistan shut down the western border with Afghanistan and Iran. It also ordered the closure of all education institutions in Pakistan till April 5 in view of the virus outbreak.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday hold a Cabinet meeting via video link, Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said.

Meanwhile, the opposition accused the government of failing to contain the spread of virus. It also alleged that the quarantine facilities for pilgrims who returned from Iran and kept at Taftan border point are poor.

"The government has failed to check the spread of coronavirus," former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told reporters here.