Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar has contracted the coronavirus and is self-isolating, he revealed via Twitter on Monday.

"I have tested positive for Covid-19 and self-isolating at home. Requesting everyone for prayers," he said.

Several politicians, including Planning Minister Asad Umar, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari have tested positive for the virus since it was first detected in the country last year.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra also tested positive earlier and have since recovered.

Former Balochistan governor Syed Fazal Agha, PML-N Senator Kalsoom Parveen, PTI Punjab MPA Shaheen Raza, Sindh Minister for Human Settlements Ghulam Murtaza Baloch, MNA Munir Khan Orakzai and PTI's Mian Jamshedud Din Kakakhel are among politicians who passed away after contracting the virus.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth also passed away due to Covid-19 in November of last year.

Virus situation

A total of 546,428 people have contracted coronavirus in Pakistan so far. More than 91 per cent of those people or 501,252 have recovered.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has received the first batch of coronavirus vaccines that China had earlier promised to provide and the vaccination campaign is due to begin soon.

The batch of vaccines, which was brought to Pakistan via a PAF aircraft, contains 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine that has been gifted by China.