Pakistan’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 33 on Saturday, as five news cases of the infectious disease surfaced in Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad. Two new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Balochistan, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the province to 10, provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. A woman, who had recently arrived in the federal capital from the United States, was tested positive at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Saturday, the health facility’s spokesperson Dr Waseem Khawaja confirmed. The patient is in a critical condition and has been put on the ventilator, he added. With two fresh cases of COVID-19 in Sindh, the provincial tally has risen to 17. One patient recently returned from Saudi Arabia while the other patient’s father has a travel history of the United Kingdom and he transmitted the virus to his young child, Secretary Health Zahid Abbasi told Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah during a meeting of coronavirus task force. Both cases are from Karachi. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Saturday said the country is conducting diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus free of cost “Throughout the country, diagnostic tests of the coronavirus are being carried out free of cost,” he said, pointing out that eight government laboratories have been provided with coronavirus kits. He said that the kits were provided to the labs free of cost and no fees are being charged for conducting coronavirus tests. “Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world that can produce its own coronavirus kits,” he said, adding that 25 hospitals across country have been designated to treat patients suffering from the virus. In Punjab, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar announced two-month remission in sentences of prisoners in the province. The provincial government has taken the step with regard to prevention from coronavirus, said a handout issued here on Saturday. Buzdar said the decision will result in release of hundreds of prisoners. He said the Punjab government will take every step which can help in dealing with coronavirus spread. Azad Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday decided to impose section 144 Cr PC as a precautionary measure to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of State Coordination Committee presided over by Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan directed the authorities concerned to keep close liaison with all relevant segments of the society including ulema to aware masses about the pandemic. He also directed to use local newspapers, polio teams, teachers and district administration to educate the public about the epidemic effectively. He asked to properly monitor and check those visiting AJK from Europe and other foreign countries. Chief Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana said there were six suspected cases of coronavirus in AJK out of which four were declared clear while two were still at a quarantine facility. Also on Saturday, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority issued a formal NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) about suspension of international flight operations from and to five airports including Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot, Quetta and Faisalabad as part of safety measures against the coronavirus. “International flight operations to/from Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot, Quetta and Faisalabad will remain suspended with effect from Saturday, March 14, 2020, 0700 UTC/1200 PST and until further orders in this regard,” the authority said in a NOTAM. “However, the international flight operations would only be permitted from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore Airports in accordance with the established flight schedules and requests for additional/extra section flights would be dealt with by the respective airports as per policy and availability of slots,” it added. In Sindh, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed officials to establish a quarantine room in each district to combat the spread of coronavirus. In addition, the government has also decided to close all marriage halls, shrines and cinemas for the next three weeks. Chairing a meeting of the provincial task force on COVID-19 on Saturday, the Sindh chief minister directed the Sukkur commissioner to begin screening Zaireens coming in from Iran-Pakistan border at Taftan, adding that he is personally monitoring the situation and will stay in touch with the Sukkur commissioner over the matter. Shah said he has sent his helicopter to Sukkur to bring back blood samples of the Zaireens arriving from the Taftan border. Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has offered eight railways hospitals and 36 dispensaries to provincial health departments for setting up isolation wards or centres for affected patients of coronavirus. Also on Saturday, the first meeting of National Coordination Committee on Coronavirus was held to discuss plans to effectively curb the spread of disease by evaluating the situation on day to day basis. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza chaired the meeting. The meeting was also attended by provincial chief ministers through video link. The meeting reviewed the implementation status of decisions of National Security Committee (NSC) and was informed that provinces had started implementing the decisions of the NSC. It was informed that all educational institutions including public and private schools, universities, vocational institutions and Madaris had been closed in the country with immediate effect and till April 5. The meeting decided to make and implement coordinated and effective strategy to fight coronavirus. It was informed that taking the situation as a national challenge, all possible steps were being taken to ensure implementing national action plan and for this all available resources would be utilized to protect citizens from the disease. It was decided that the Ministry of National Health Services, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and ISPR will update the public about disease situation.