COVID-19: Pak minister warns 1.2 million cases by July end; total infected cases cross 142,000

The coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to over 142,000 as planning minister Asad Umar warned that cases could reach 1.2 million by end July.

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Sindh and Punjab continued to be the epicenter of the virus in Pakistan with over 1,06,000 cases combined. The death toll due to the virus in the country has climbed to over 2,600.

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Meanwhile, Asad Umar, Pakistan's minister of planning and development, said at a press conference that "cases could double by the end of June" and even reach 1 million to 1.2 million by end July".

The minister however added that the spike was avoidable if the government and people work together while urging the people to wear masks and practice social distancing while endorsing PM Imran Khan's "smart lockdown" concept.

The minister had earlier said that the Pakistan government aims to conduct 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by July end.

As the number of coronavirus cases continued to rise, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 563 cases in the last 24 hours with the total number of cases rising to over 18,000

On Sunday, Sindh had recorded 2,287 new cases as the number of cases shot up to over 53,000 with 831 fatalities.