Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Wednesday said that reports of the government hiding the total number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Pakistan were false.

Talking to media persons he said that the reports of the government hiding the total number of confirmed cases of the virus in Pakistan are 100 per cent false, "The government has also initiated a strategy to tackle the possible spread of dengue in Pakistan," he added.

"Every little case of the common cough or flu should not be mistaken for the coronavirus," he noted. "If people get alarmed and concerned at every little illness, there will soon be a panic in the country," he said. "Please wash your hands regularly," he maintained.

"Pakistan has thankfully managed to contain the pandemic to some extent because of the preventive measures put in place by the government. This is why we managed to contain the spread compared to other world nations," he remarked. Only five persons or 2.23 percent of the total of 224 suspected patients who were tested for coronavirus throughout the country since the first week of February 2020 have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, officials at the National Institute of Health Islamabad said.