Coronavirus updates, June 11: Latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic from Pakistan and around the world
Nationwide confirmed cases jump past 123,000, death toll surpasses 2,400; global death toll tops 415,000
Updated Thursday Jun 11 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 125,470 on Thursday after new infections were confirmed in the country.
The province-wise break up of the total number of cases as of 11:40pm, June 11, is as follows:
Total confirmed cases: 125,470
• Sindh: 46,828
• Punjab: 47,382
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 15,787
• Balochistan: 7,673
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 6,236
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 1,030
• AJK: 534
Deaths: 2,459
• Punjab: 890
• Sindh: 776
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 632
• Balochistan: 75
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 62
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 15
• AJK: 9
More than 7.38 million people have been reported infected with the novel coronavirus globally and over 415,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Read on for the latest updates from Pakistan and around the world.
Disclaimer: There may be some discrepancy in the number of confirmed cases reported at the country level due to differences in figures quoted by federal and provincial authorities.
Geo News is constantly gathering fresh information from concerned authorities and striving to keep our readers up to date with the most accurate information available.
Orange: General updates coming in from Pakistan
Red: Reports on new cases in Pakistan
Maroon: Reports on new deaths in Pakistan
Green: Reports on recovered patients in Pakistan
END OF LIVE UPDATES FOR JUNE 11
Live updates for June 12 to begin here.
11:57pm — Cairo, Egypt — Seaside resorts to open for foreigners from July 1
Egypt will open up its main seaside resorts for international flights and foreign tourists from July 1, the cabinet said, Reuters reported.
Egypt suspended regular international flights in March and shut down restaurants, hotels and cafes. Apart from the resorts, other international flights will remain suspended until further notice.
Hotels were allowed to reopen for domestic tourists last month at reduced capacity if they met health protocols.
The areas opening up are southern Sinai, where the resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab are located, Red Sea province, home to the Hurghada and Marsa Alam resorts, and Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean, the cabinet statement said.
11:40pm — Lahore, Pakistan — Punjab reports 49 deaths, 1,919 new infections
11:33pm — California, US — Moderna to start final testing stage of coronavirus vaccine in July
Moderna Inc on Thursday confirmed it plans to start a trial of 30,000 volunteers of its much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine in July as the company enters the final stage of testing.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech said the primary goal of the study would be to prevent symptomatic COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The key secondary goal would be prevention of severe disease, as defined by keeping people out of the hospital.
The company’s shares jumped 6% in premarket trading.
Moderna said it has selected the 100-microgram dose of the vaccine for the late-stage study. At that dose level, the company is on track to deliver about 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, starting in 2021 from the company’s internal U.S. manufacturing site and strategic collaboration with Swiss drugmaker Lonza.
11:23pm — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Graves dug in Rio beach to protest handling of COVID-19 pandemic
Brazilians critical of their government’s ambiguous response to a surging coronavirus pandemic dug 100 graves and stuck black crosses in the sand of Rio’s Copacabana beach in a tribute to the nearly 40,000 people who have died so far, Reuters reported.
The graves were dug overnight on the beach opposite the ritzy Copacabana Hotel in a protest mounted by non-governmental organization Rio de Paz.
Brazil has become a major epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with 39,680 deaths and over 770,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, the world’s worst outbreak after the United States.
11:13pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Administration monitoring several virus hotspots
Islamabad administration said it was monitoring several hotspots and in case the cases in these specific areas surge, the authorities would seal them.
11:03pm — Washington, US — coronavirus deaths could reach 200,000 in September, expert says
The United States may see 200,000 deaths because of the coronavirus at some point in September, a leading expert said, while total U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million on Wednesday as governments relax restrictions.
Ashish Jha, the head of Harvard’s Global Health Institute, told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that without drastic action, the number of US deaths would march on.
“Even if we don’t have increasing cases, even if we keep things flat, it’s reasonable to expect that we’re going to hit 200,000 deaths sometime during the month of September,” Jha said. “And that’s just through September. The pandemic won’t be over in September.”
Jha added: “I’m really worried about where we’re going to be in the weeks and months ahead.”
10:53pm — Lahore, Pakistan — Shehbaz says COVID-19 poses alarmingly high threat levels
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that the threats posed by coronavirus were "alarmingly high," urging people to take precautions.
10:43pm — Chris Hemsworth says he pretends to be a superhero but real heroes are doctors fighting COVID-19
Chirs Hemswoth recently interacted with doctors and patients at the Children's National Hospital in Washington DC.
The "Thor" actor responded to questions about "Avengers" and posed for pictures over Zoom.
Talking to staff, he said doctors and nurses deployed at the coronavirus ward of the medical facility are the "real superheros".
Read complete story here.
10:23pm — Gilgit, Pakistan — GB reports one death, 12 new infections
10:16pm — Quetta, Pakistan — Balochistan's cases at a glance
10:02pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Two sectors in the captial to be sealed after several cases emerge
9:33pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh issues notification on restaurant timings
Sindh issued a notification to clarify the timings for restaurants and cafes in the province.
According to the notification, restaurants and cafes could be opened from 6am to 7pm, while they could continue their delivery services from 7pm to 11pm.
9:25pm — Quetta, Pakistan — Balochistan records two deaths, more than 300 infections
9:18pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — 130 COVID-19 cases recorded among NAB officials
National Accountability Bureau said 130 of its employees have tested positive for coronavirus.
The anti-graft watchdog said that 25 officers had tested positive in the institution's headquarters, 10 in Rawalpindi, 12 in KP, 10 in Lahore, 25 in Quetta, seven in Multan, and one in GB.
9:12pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh's cases at a glance
9:05pm — Geneva, Switzerland — Impact of seasons on coronavirus unclear, WHO's Ryan says
It is unclear how the arrival of winter in the southern hemisphere will impact the novel coronavirus, the head of the World Health Organization’s emergencies programme Mike Ryan said, Reuters reported.
“We don’t know how the coronavirus is going to be,” Ryan said during a virtual press conference. “Right now, we have no data to suggest that the virus will behave more aggressively or transmit more efficiently or not,” Ryan said, adding that the impact of summer’s arrival in the northern hemisphere was also unclear.
“We cannot rely on an expectation that the season or the temperature will be the answer to (the disease’s spread),” he said.
8:59pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — KP reports lowest positivity ratio as compared to other provinces
8:52pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — KP reports 13 deaths, 581 infections
8:46pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — COAS Gen Bajwa calls Shehbaz Sharif, Sheikh Rashid to ask about health
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa telephoned Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid to inquire about their health after they tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
While talking to the PML-N president, COAS Bajwa prayed for his early recovery, sources told Geo News.
“Pakistan Army chief advised me to take complete rest for a full recovery,” Sheikh Rashid, who heads Pakistan Awami League, said in a statement.
“Gen Bajwa also offered me to avail any military health facility if I feel the need at any stage,” the minister said from the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
Read complete story here.
8:40pm — Islamabad, Pakistan — Through Ehsaas Programme Rs144 billion were distributed among families hit by lockdown in Pakistan
8:34pm — S&P 500 falls 3% on new virus wave fears, Fed's cautious outlook
US stocks extended losses, with the S&P 500 on track for its sharpest percentage decline since April 1, as investors worried about a second wave of coronavirus infections and a grim economic forecast from the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,052.92 points, or 3.90%, at 25,937.07, the S&P 500 was down 105.03 points, or 3.29%, at 3,085.11. The Nasdaq Composite was down 249.77 points, or 2.49%, at 9,770.57.
8:22pm — Beijing, China — Bejing slams Harvard coronavirus study as 'disinformation'
China rejected a preliminary study by US researchers on Thursday, suggesting the coronavirus may have been circulating in China since August 2019, calling it proof of a disinformation campaign.
The virus first emerged late last year in the central city of Wuhan, but the US has repeatedly accused China of a lack of transparency about the outbreak and its origins.
The new paper by researchers at Boston University and Harvard — which has not been peer-reviewed — analysed photos of parking lots at Wuhan hospitals and search trends on the Chinese search engine Baidu.
The team led by Elaine Nsoesie at Boston University said they found "a steep increase in volume starting in August 2019" at Wuhan hospital parking lots, "culminating with a peak in December 2019."
8:15pm — Abu Dhabi, UAE — 479 infections recorded
8:09pm — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — 38 more COVID-19 deaths recorded
Saudi Arabia recorded another 38 deaths from coronavirus and 3,733 new infections, the health ministry said.
The health ministry added that 2,065 more people have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 80,019.
8:03pm — Karachi, Pakistan — PTI's Ramesh Kumar testes positive for COVID-19
PTI's member of National Assembly, Ramesh Kumar, said he has tested positive for coronavirus despite taking stern precautionary measures.
The lawmaker has gone into self-quarantine.
7:55pm — Washington, US — Hilary Clinton slams White House administration over staying quite as outbreak spikes in US
7:48pm — Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh has used Rs1.11 billion from COVID-19 fund
Sindh has used at least Rs1.11 billion from the Rs3.62 billion fund accumulated in the COVID-19 fund, a meeting chaired by provincial chief secretary was informed.
The chief secretary said that COVID-19 patients should be provided with oxygen cylinders at their residence.
7:40pm — Earlier coronavirus second wave feared in Europe after mass protests
Europe could face a surge of COVID-19 infections in the coming weeks caused by mass protests in the continent over the last days, European Union officials and experts said, Reuters reported.
Tens of thousands of protesters have crowded together in Europe’s big cities in recent days to demonstrate against racism after the killing in the United States of George Floyd while in police custody.
“If you advise everybody to keep one and half meter from each other, and everybody just stands next to each other, holding each other, then I don’t have a good feeling about that,” Jozef Kesecioglu, who chairs the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, told a conference.
Asked whether there could be a surge of infections in the coming two weeks, he said: “Yes, but hopefully I’m wrong.”
7:33pm — London, UK — British Airways turns to Damien Hirst in its hour of need
British Airways will sell at least 10 works of art that normally hang in its executive lounges, a source said, turning to pieces by famous artists like Damien Hirst to raise millions of pounds to help it through the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
The airline has come under fire from British politicians for plans to cut 12,000 jobs. But with planes grounded and no revenue, it says the job losses are necessary because travel demand is set to shrink in coming years.
As well as Hirst, the BA collection includes works by Peter Doig and Bridget Riley. The idea of selling them came from a BA staff member, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
7:20pm – Karachi, Pakistan – MQM-P leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan tests positive for coronavirus
MQM-P senior leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan said he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The MQM-P leader was attending an All Parties Conference by the PPP, during which he came to know the test results via message.
Hasan said that he left the meeting abruptly and came home to go into isolation.
7:10pm – Lahore, Pakistan – Punjab’s civil-military leadership holds consultation to beef up measures against virus
The civil-military leadership of Punjab gathered today, where it was decided to increase measures and utilize resources in the fight against the coronavirus.
In the session, the provincial leadership decided not to reopen schools anytime soon due to the pandemic.
The session also decided to make a special working group, which will make a separate model of recommendations for Lahore.
The members attending the session decided to take measures against community transmission of the virus.
6:45pm – Muzaffarabad, AJK – Tally of cases reaches 534 after 46 new cases
According to the public health department, 46 new cases of the coronavirus were recorded in AJK, after which the tally reached 534.
Another 18 patients recovered from the coronavirus in AJK, after which the number of recovered patients reached 237.
6:30pm – Lahore, Pakistan – PPP chairman calls Shehbaz Sharif after COVID-19 diagnosis
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto called PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif to inquire about his health after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
The PPP chairman said that he was praying for the PML-N leader’s speedy recovery. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser called Shehbaz Sharif later in the day, sending prayers his way for a quick recovery from the virus.
6:00pm- Helsinki, Finland -Govt lifts travel restrictions on neighbours except Sweden
Finland’s government said on Thursday it will lift coronavirus-related restrictions on leisure travelling to and from neighbouring Baltic and Nordic countries, excluding Sweden.
“Unfortunately, the epidemic situation in Sweden does not enable giving up the restrictions yet,” Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo told reporters.
Travel restrictions will be lifted on June 15 for tourists to and from Norway, Denmark, Iceland as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where the infection rate has fallen to similar levels to Finland’s, Ohisalo said.
5:40pm – Karachi, Pakistan – Sindh govt takes strict measures in Karachi, other areas
The Sindh government has decided to tighten measures to curb the spread of the virus across the province.
In an official notification, the government declared wearing masks mandatory in Malir district of Karachi.
The notification warned that in case of violation fine and arrests will be made.
5:15pm – Karachi, Pakistan – Sindh govt mulls over imposing lockdown: sources
Due to an abysmal rise in the coronavirus cases and deaths across Sindh, the provincial government is considering to reimpose lockdown.
Sources said that the Sindh government began to consider the possibility after the World Health Organisation report, which recommended intermittent lockdowns after every two weeks in the country.
Sindh cabinet members and medical experts mulled over the WHO report and held consultation over imposing lockdown for two weeks, sources added.
4:45pm- New York, US - Coronavirus spreads among fruit and vegetable packers
From apple packing houses in Washington state to farm workers in Florida and a California county known as “the world’s salad bowl,” outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are emerging at US fruit and vegetable farms and packing plants.
A rising number of sick farm and packing house workers comes after thousands of meat plant employees contracted the virus and could lead to more labor shortages and a fresh wave of disruption to US food production.
4:25pm - Karachi, Pakistan — Sindh carries out over 10,000 tests, reports highest single day surge in cases
Nationwide positive cases of coronavirus rose to 122,574 after new cases were reported in Sindh.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 3,038 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
Sindh also carried out over 10,000 tests in the last 24 hours.
The new cases takes the provincial tally of positive cases to 46,828.
4:25pm - Karachi, Pakistan — Countrywide death toll rises to 2,394
Nationwide death toll from the coroanvirus rose to 2,394 after new deaths were reported in Sindh.
According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, 38 new deaths were recorded in province taking the provincial tally to 776.
CM Balochistan shares lists of static COVID-19 testing facility in Quetta
4:05pm - London, UK — UK lockdown a week earlier could have halved COVID-19 death toll, scientist says
Britain’s death toll from COVID-19 could have been halved if lockdown had been introduced a week earlier, a former member of the UK government’s scientific advisory group said on Wednesday.
Britain has an official death toll from confirmed COVID-19 cases of over 40,000, rising to over 50,000 cases when deaths from suspected cases are included.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the lockdown on March 23.
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson told lawmakers that Britain had taken the right measures but too late.
“The epidemic was doubling every three to four days before lockdown interventions were introduced. So had we introduced lockdown measures a week earlier, we would have then reduced the final death toll by at least a half,” Ferguson said.
“So whilst I think the measures ... were warranted ... certainly had we introduced them earlier, we would have seen many fewer deaths.”
3:50pm - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Malaysia bars citizens from Hajj on coronavirus fears
Malaysia said on Thursday its citizens would be barred from making the haj pilgrimage this year due to concerns over the new coronavirus, following in the steps of neighbouring Indonesia, which is also a Muslim-majority nation.
Every year Malaysia sends tens of thousands of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two holiest sites, Makkah and Madina. Malaysian pilgrims can wait up to 20 years to make the trip due to a quota system negotiated with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has suspended the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages until further notice in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, though it has begun easing some restrictions on movement and travel.
Malaysia decided to bar citizens from making the Hajj this year due to the risks of contracting COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, and the lack of a vaccine to treat it, said Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri.
3:35pm - Dubai, UAE — Flydubai extends salary cuts, puts pilots on unpaid leave: sources
United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai has indefinitely extended the period of reduced pay for employees and placed dozens of pilots on unpaid leave for one year, company sources said.
Without providing further details, a flydubai spokeswoman said some staff had been offered unpaid leave and that no employees had been made redundant.
PM Imran offers to share Pakistan's cash transfer programme with India
3:00pm - Geneva Switzerland — Pandemic 'accelerating' in Africa, test kits needed, WHO says
The coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” in Africa, spreading from capital cities where it arrived with travellers, but it does not appear that severe cases and deaths are being missed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.
Ten countries are driving Africa’s epidemic, accounting for 75% of the some 200,000 cases on the continent which has 5,000 deaths, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa regional director, told a Geneva briefing. South Africa accounts for a quarter of cases.
“We believe that large numbers of severe cases and deaths are not being missed in Africa,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges in Africa continues be availability of supplies, particularly test kits.”
2:40pm - Lahore, Pakistan — 270 police officers test positive for virus
2:00pm - London, UK — British Airways to put artworks on sale in COVID-19 cash crunch
British Airways will sell at least 10 works of art from its extensive collection, a source said, to try to raise millions of pounds to boost its cash reserves as it struggles through the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline has come under fire from British politicians for plans to cut 12,000 jobs. But with planes grounded and no revenue, it says the job losses are necessary because travel demand is set to shrink in coming years.
The BA collection includes works by Damien Hirst, Peter Doig and Bridget Riley, and selling off some of the works, which usually hang in executive lounges at airports, was an idea from a BA staff member, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
At least one work has been valued at more than 1 million pounds ($1.27 million), the source added.
BA boss Alex Cruz said last week that with its parent company IAG ) burning through 178 million pounds ($223 million) a week, he could not guarantee BA’s survival and urged unions to engage over the job cuts.
The airline has said it is taking steps now to reduce up to 28% of staff numbers to protect as many jobs as it can in the long term.
1:45pm - Moscow, Russia — Russia's coronavirus case tally passes the half million mark
Russia on Thursday reported 8,779 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its nationwide infection tally to 502,436.
Officials said 174 people had died in the last 24 hours, pushing the official national death toll to 6,532.
1:25pm - Pakistan to continue to push for PM's Gobal debt relief initiative: Shah Mahmood Qureshi
12:45pm - Paris, France — France should speed up return to business activity, says Le Maire
France should speed up its gradual return to work and business activity, as the country emerges from lockdown measures imposed to tackle the coronavirus crisis, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.
“I want economic activity to resume more quickly,” Le Maire told LCI television.
The French economy is expected to contract by 11% in 2020.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government put France under one of Europe’s most stringent lockdowns from mid-March, and only began lifting restrictions on May 11. Macron is due to address the nation in a televised speech on June 14.
1,712 children infected with COVID-19 in Sindh: Murtaza Wahab
12:25pm - London, UK — Heathrow starts voluntary redundancy scheme, can't rule out more job losses
Britain’s Heathrow Airport, which before the coronavirus pandemic was the busiest in Europe, said it had started a voluntary redundancy scheme after passenger numbers fell to an all-time low and it could not rule out further job losses.
Heathrow said that passenger numbers in May were down 97% and it was preparing for further declines due to Britain’s quarantine rule.
The airport, which has about 7,000 staff, said on Thursday that its employment levels were no longer sustainable and that it had agreed to start voluntary redundancy with unions.
“While we cannot rule out further job reductions, we will continue to explore options to minimise the number of job losses,” Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye said in a statement.
Global coronavirus cases at 7.38 million, death toll about 415,000
More than 7.38 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 415,545 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
12:00pm - Washington, US — US could reach 200,000 coronavirus deaths in September: expert
The US may see 200,000 deaths because of the coronavirus at some point in September, a leading expert said as governments relax restrictions.
Ashish Jha, the head of Harvard's Global Health Institute, told CNN that without drastic action, the number of US deaths would march on.
"Even if we don't have increasing cases, even if we keep things flat, it's reasonable to expect that we're going to hit 200,000 deaths sometime during September," Jha said.
Latest data on confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world
11:30am - New Delhi, India — India lifts export ban on Trump-touted drug hydroxychloroquine
India has lifted an export ban on hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug touted by US President Donald Trump as a potential "game-changer" in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved the lifting of ban on Export of Hydroxychloroquine API as well as formulations," India's minister for chemicals and fertilizers, Sadananda Gowda, said.
The country, a leading exporter of generic medicines across the world, banned the export of the drug and its formulations in March as the coronavirus outbreak disrupted supply chains.
But India eased some of these restrictions in April and shipped 50 million tablets of the drug to the United States that month, Reuters reported.
10:40am - Berlin, Germany — Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise 555 to 185,416
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 555 to 185,416, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.
The reported death toll rose by 26 to 8,755, the tally showed.
10:25am - Bangkok, Thailand — Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Thailand on Thursday reported no new coronavirus infections or deaths, maintaining the total of 3,125 confirmed cases and 58 fatalities.
It was the first time in nearly three weeks that no cases were reported and the 17th day without a local transmission. All recent cases have been found in quarantine among Thais returning from abroad.
There are 2,987 patients who have recovered, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government’s COVID-19 Administration Centre.
10:00am - Lahore, Pakistan — 836 health care workers test positive in Punjab
9:45am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Death toll rises to 2,356
Death toll from novel coronavirus climbed to 2,356 in Pakistan after new deaths were reported in the country.
According to the national dashboard, 34 new deaths were recorded in Punjab and five more deaths were reported by Islamabad.
9:45am — Islamabad, Pakistan — Positive cases shoot past 119,000
Confirmed cases in the country jumped to 119,536 after new cases were reported in Punjab, Islamabad, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the national dashboard, 2,003 new cases were reported in Punjab, 363 in Islamabad and 44 new cases in AJK.
As of now, 45,463 cases have been reported in Punjab, 43,460 in Sindh, 15,206 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7,335 Balochistan, 6,236 Islamabad, 1,018 Gilgit Baltistan and 488 in Azad Kashmir.
9:24am - Lahore, Pakistan — Shehbaz Sharif tests positive for coronavirus: PML-N
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has tested positive for the coronavirus, confirmed party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb.
Marriyum shared the Shehbaz was getting his tests done constantly and has been following the doctors' advice.
Impact of seasons on coronavirus unclear: WHO
It is unclear how the arrival of winter in the southern hemisphere will impact the novel coronavirus, the head of WHO’s emergencies programme Mike Ryan said.
"We don't know how the coronavirus is going to be," Ryan said during a virtual press conference. "Right now, we have no data to suggest that the virus will behave more aggressively or transmit more efficiently or not," Ryan said, adding that the impact of summer's arrival in the northern hemisphere was also unclear.
"We cannot rely on an expectation that the season or the temperature will be the answer to (the disease's spread)," he said.
8:45am — Washington, US — US coronavirus cases now over 2 million
Total US coronavirus cases surpassed 2 million, according to a Reuters tally, as health officials urge anyone who took part in massive protests for racial justice to get tested.
Recent increases in cases are likely a result of more people moving about and resuming some business and pleasure activities as all 50 states gradually reopen.
Total US coronavirus-related deaths have surpassed 112,000, also the most in the world.
8:30am — Los Angeles, US — Los Angeles County to allow movie and TV production to resume
Los Angeles County officials said on Wednesday that movie and TV production can resume on Friday, but movie theatres must remain closed because of the coronavirus epidemic.
California state officials said earlier this week that movie theatres could reopen as early as Friday, pending approval from local officials. Los Angeles County is the biggest movie market in the United States.
Movie theatres closed their doors around the world in mid-March to help curb the coronavirus pandemic, and movie and television production also ground to a halt.
11:00pm/June 10 — Karachi, Pakistan — Khurrum Sher Zaman tests positive for COVID-19
10:19pm/June 10 — Islamabad, Pakistan — NCC instructs postponement of exams as private schools demand reopening by June 15
The National Coordination Committee (NCC) directed provincial governments to postpone and reschedule examinations across the country, as a protest raged outside the Karachi Press Club demanding the reopening of educational institutes.
The education secretary penned down a letter to the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir, underscoring that this is not a suitable time to conduct examinations as the country struggles to stem the spread of coronavirus.
"Some educational institutions and madressahs had previously requested to conduct exams in the months of June and July. However, keeping in view the pandemic , provincial governments should ensure that there are no examinations conducted in their respective regions," he said.