Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his country cannot close cities on a large scale like western countries to prevent the spread of corona virus.  The United States and many other countries have shut down restaurants and other commercial establishments to prevent the spread of this infectious disease.  There are many large populated cities in Pakistan like Karachi.  Khan said on Tuesday that the move had been considered earlier but officials feared it would further demolish the country's fragile economy.

 Imran Khan, in a televised address to the nation, said, "The situation in Pakistan is not like that of America or Europe. 25 per cent of our population is living in extreme poverty."  He said, "If we close the cities, we will save our citizens already living in difficult conditions from the corona virus, but they will be killed by starvation."

 However, Pakistan has closed cricket stadiums, schools, colleges and universities.  Khan said Pakistan's economy had grown last year but is now under pressure due to the Corona virus crisis and suggested that the International Monetary Fund should consider giving relief to the country's debt payments.

 Cricketer-turned-politician Khan also warned that "very strict action will be taken against the food hoarding".  Pakistan's health authorities on Tuesday investigated 1,571 suspected cases of which more than 200 people were found infected.  There is no official death toll yet, but observers suspect that the actual number of people infected is much higher than the figures.