Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the novel coronavirus can be curbed if people take precautions "voluntarily" without panicking.

The premier was chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Coronavirus, which was attended by Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah, prime minister's aides Hafeez Sheikh, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Dr Moeed Yousuf, Dr Zafar Mirza, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari and other committee members. The meeting was also attended by the chief ministers of all four provinces through video link.

The prime minister was briefed on the implementation of the steps which were decided last week during the National Security Committee's meeting. The chief ministers apprised the premier of the steps taken by provincial governments to control the virus from spreading and also discussed the challenges and future strategy.

Prime Minister Imran remarked that the government realised the severity of the situation and will take every measure to tackle the growth of the virus.

He also emphasised the importance of raising awareness among the masses so they can take appropriate precautions to protect themselves from the virus.

The prime minister added that he will address the nation over the issue but did not announce the date.

So far, the number of cases that have been detected in Pakistan is 136, the majority of which have been emerged in Sindh.