Islamabad, Mar 23 (IANS): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to all the citizens of the country to self-quarantine, saying this was the best precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus since the government could not impose a nationwide lockdown keeping in view multiple problems the move would create, the media reported on Monday.

In an address to the nation on Sunday, Khan said: "Lock down yourself because if I lock down the entire country it will create a lot of problems."

"Keep yourself in self-quarantine in your homes and I hope you will not disappoint me," he said, adding that panic was a bigger threat than coronavirus, Dawn news reported.

The premier assured the nation that the government was extremely vigilant about food security situation and expressed the hope that there would be no shortage of food items during these testing times.

"We have no shortage of food items in the country, but if the rich and the well-off start piling up food items in their homes, it may lead to an artificial shortage, forcing other people to rush to markets for panic buying," he added.

"I and my team are working day and night to tackle the situation in the best possible way to steer the business, economic and industrial sectors of the country out of the current economic slowdown," he said, adding that he would announce a comprehensive economic plan on Tuesday.

Khan said the government had already ordered closure of all shopping malls and markets and called off all cricket events.

As of Monday, the overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan increased to 799, while the death toll currently stood at five.