The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan jumped to 692 on Saturday with Sindh still topping the list with 357 patients.

At least 196 new cases were reported in all provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and the Federal Capital.

The number of cases in other provinces and regions was: Punjab 137 with 41 new cases, Balochistan 104 with 12 new cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 27 with four new cases, Gilgit-Baltistan 55 with 34 new cases, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 11 with one new case and Azad Kashmir one.

However, given the situation, more infections were expected to be reported from some other parts of the country too. Until now, five infected persons – Sindh three and ICT two – have fully recovered from the infection, while the number of deaths stands at three.

Meanwhile, 503 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the hospitals in different cities of the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked all the citizens to stay home while people in Sindh began observing a three-day voluntary lockdown from Saturday in the province on the call of the provincial government.

The Sindh chief minister chaired a meeting of the provincial taskforce on Friday where civil and military officials were in attendance. They discussed measures to control the deteriorating situation in the wake of increasing viral infections in the province.

At the meeting, the chief minister appealed to people of Sindh to stay indoors and go into isolation for the next three days to contain the spread of coronavirus.

He said the government had not declared a lockdown in the province; he just advised people to take preventive measures. People were advised to be careful for the sake of their families and friends.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has decided to convert the 250-bed Landhi Hospital and the airport hotel into quarantine centres keeping in view the possibility of an increase in patients in the coming days.