New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for coronavirus, the country's top officer of health services has tweeted. Mr Khan has isolated himself at home, said Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Pakistani PM on health services.

"PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating at home," Mr Sultan tweeted, without giving further details.

Mr Khan, 68, has been holding regular and frequent meetings lately, including attending a security conference held in capital Islamabad that was attended by a large number of people. He addressed the conference without wearing a mask, and attended another gathering to inaugurate a housing project for poor people in a similar fashion on Friday, news agency Reuters reported.

Mr Khan was vaccinated on Thursday.

COVID-19 cases have been rising in Pakistan. The total cases have passed 6.15 lakh and the death count has crossed over 13,700.

Most of the new cases came from Pakistan's largest and richest province, Punjab.

Pakistani minister Asad Umar said hospital beds were filling fast, and warned of stricter curbs if rules were not followed, news agency Reuters reported. "The new strain (first found in Britain) spreads faster and is more deadly," he said on Twitter.

In neighbouring India, the surge in infections has been led by Maharashtra as businesses reopened and millions used crowded suburban trains again. The state ordered a new lockdown in some districts and put curbs on cinemas, hotels and restaurants until the end of the month after infections hit a multi-month high this week.

Pakistan will soon get made-in-India coronavirus vaccines under the United Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization or GAVI, a public-private global health partnership to increase access to immunisation in poor countries.

"Pakistan is one of the 92 lower-income economies eligible for support under the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC)," GAVI spokesperson told NDTV on March 10.

BDST: 1636 HRS, MAR 20, 2021
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