Two women wearing facemasks walk unrder the rain during a government-imposed lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Islamabad on March 24, 2020. / AFP / Farooq NAEEM
A provincial education minister in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, although he did not visit any hospital where infected persons are being treated.
Saeed Ghani urged people to follow the policy of social distancing to avoid the disease.
He said he still had no symptoms of the infection and he has isolated himself at home.
Ghani’s appeal came after authorities in Pakistan imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
The lockdown also has been extended to Pakistan’s part of disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir after a person was tested positive there.
Roads in many parts of Pakistan were deserted as police and troops started keeping people away from streets.
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 381,000 people and killed over 16,500.
The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems.
More than 101,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
