Pakistan on Monday deployed forces across the country to enforce a lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus as infections surged past 800.
The interior ministry said the troops and paramilitary forces were on the streets to help local civil administrations.
All regional governments have announced lockdowns, excluding essential services and places to get groceries and medicine and ordered people to stay indoors.
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Authorities in the central province of Punjab, which has more than 100 million people, announced the closure of public transport, restaurants, malls and parks on Monday.
The worst-hit southern province of Sindh had already announced the lockdown from Saturday.
The total number of infected people climbed to 804 on Monday, marking a steep rise. At least six deaths have been confirmed so far.
Among the dead was a young doctor, who died after contracting the virus while screening pilgrims returning from Iran.
Faizullah Faraq, a spokesperson for the regional government of the Gilgit-Baltistan region near Pakistan’s border with China said Osama Riaz, 26, would be given a national honour.
Officials warned that infection numbers would rise in the coming days because of the poor conditions at government-run quarantine camps, where rooms contain several patients in close proximity.
Pakistan has the world’s fifth-largest population with over 220 million people and a broken health care system.
There are only 2,300 ventilators in the country and a shortage of protective gear for medical staff.