Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has berated the government's efforts to combat the novel coronavirus, saying that "nothing is being done on ground".

While hearing an appeal against Islamabad High Court's verdict regarding the release of under-trial prisoners due to the coronavirus outbreak, the chief justice said that the government had closed OPDs of all hospitals, leaving no place for patients to seek treatment.

"Hospitals have been closed when we need them. Up till now, 10 hospitals with 1,000 beds each should have been made operational.

"Everyone is talking about funds, no one is doing anything. The public has been left at the mercy of God," he remarked. The chief justice also criticised government's efforts to encourage people to stay indoors in order to curb the spread of the disease.