Coronavirus cases in Pakistan tally 2238

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday reported the biggest jump in coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day as the number of people infected with the deadly virus reached 2238.

The country has also witnessed 31 deaths from the infection. Punjab has the highest number of COVID-19 cases which stands at 845, followed by Sindh province. Sindh has reported 709 deaths.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has confirmed 23 more cases of the novel coronavirus, according to a report issued by the provincial health department.

Reports of the lack of adequate screening procedures and squalid living conditions at the quarantine camps at the Taftan border crossing with Iran have raised concerns about the surge in the number of infections.

 According to The News International, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that "people are treating coronavirus patients like 'criminals' and reiterated that only the old and the weak needed to be hospitalized in case they contracted the infection".

He said "coronavirus will be confronted by the force of faith" and announced government measures to contain the virus.

Pakistani media cited Jamaat-i-Islami's general-secretary Liaqat Baloch as saying that the Prime Minister is "confused" over whether or not to impose a lockdown in the country.