PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that the government's message to the people regarding the coronavirus lacked clarity, saying "it's not the messenger but the message" which is problematic.

"As a former journalist and information minister, I will give a few words of advice to the government because I think that we are all in the same boat. The message from the start should have been that this outbreak is bigger than one party, one leader and one government."

He added that every crisis was an opportunity and urged the federal government to declare a national health emergency, announce a political ceasefire and redefine national security to include health emergencies.