Islamabad, May 26 (IANS): Kazim Niaz, Chief Secretary of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, has tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently gone into quarantine, joining a list of government official infected with the virus, it was reported.

In a statement on Monday, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan wished Niaz a speedy recovery, reports Dawn news.

"He (Niaz) has been working day and night against the coronavirus outbreak. He has gone above and beyond his duty in this regard."

Khan also paid tribute to the services of the Chief Secretary and other officials involved in curbing the spread of the disease in the province.

Niaz was actively involved in pandemic-related work in the province and was visiting hospitals, isolation centres and laboratories.

On May 20, a PTI member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) from Gujranwala, Shaheen Raza, passed away at Lahore's Mayo Hospital after having tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The same day, former Balochistan governor Syed Fazal Agha — who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 — died at a private hospital in Karachi.