A local ruling party MPA on Thursday demanded the government to hand over Mardan to the Army immediately over the spread of coronavirus in the district.

In a video message, Zahir Shah Toro said the overall situation in the area was alarming as 40 people being tested positive on a single day represented a serious threat.

He warned that the situation would be out of control if nothing was done to address that.

Toro said that the army should look after the administrative and health affairs of the district, as no facility had so far been provided in the hospitals and quarantine centres. The patients are at the mercy of Allah, he remarked.

Asking Prime Minister Imran Khan to pay attention to the state of affairs in Mardan, the PTI lawmaker said the citizens had been disillusioned and there was no one to check the hoarders.