PTI MPA tests positive for coronavirus

PESHAWAR - A member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly on Friday tested positive for novel coronavirus infections as number of cases in the province reached to 147.

Abdul Salam Afridi, who is also a stalwart of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been quarantined at his house to save other family members from the disease, local media reported.

Afridi belongs to Nayabat Manga constituency where first coronavirus death was reported. The minister has been present in his constituency since then and now diagnosed with the infection. 

In a message on Twitter, the lawmaker has urged public to adopt safety precaution to avoid the disease. 

akistan leads South Asia with the highest number of coronavirus cases in the region, a total of 1,235 (seven of them critical) till Thursday morning, according to government data.

The death toll due to COVID-19, as the illness is officially known, has risen to nine after a coronavirus patient died in federal capital (Islamabad) on Thursday.