Former president Zardari urges citizens to wear face masks

• During visit to the accountability court, Zardari was seen instructing people walking beside him to wear masks.
• Since the last few days, there has been a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, especially in Karachi.
• NCOC data shows that 1,467 cases were reported from across the country on Tuesday morning.

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday urged citizens to wear face masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The PPP leader was attending a hearing at the accountability court in Islamabad where he was seen instructing people walking beside him to wear masks.

It is pertinent to mention that since the last few days, there has been a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, especially in Karachi.

The National Command and Operations Centre's (NCOC) Tuesday morning data showed that 1,467 cases were reported from across the country after 43,540 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. This took the positivity ratio to 3.33%.

Earlier today, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan would not undergo another lockdown and dismissed reports of schools' closure amid rising coronavirus cases.

The information minister, addressing a post-cabinet press conference, said the federal cabinet was informed that the COVID-19 positivity ratio had doubled in the country.

"But despite this, it is our resolve that we not impose a lockdown in Pakistan. Our economy cannot bear the burden [of another lockdown]," he said.