Karachi, Mar 22 (IANS): Pakistan's Sindh has ordered a two-week lockdown from Sunday midnight to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Residents across the province, whose capital Karachi is the country's business capital, will only be allowed out of their homes for essential purposes, while all offices and shops other than pharmacies and those selling food items will be shut down, the BBC reported.
Though the country has reported 600 cases, mostly of people returning from coronavirus-ravaged Iran, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has opposed a nationwide lockdown saying it would cause too much harm to those on low incomes.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Afghanistan has reported the first coronavirus-related death - a 40-year-old patient in Balkh province, the BBC said.