Prime Minister Imran Khan said that there were no contradictions in the statements made by him on the coronavirus outbreak, even when "governments across the world had changed their stance".

"They had consistency because of the National Command and Operation Centre."

The premier added that there were two paths going forward. "If we follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), our hospitals will be able to cope [with the number of patients]. It will be difficult, but they will cope.

"But if we don't follow SOPs, our hospitals will buckle under the pressure."