On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[81] The National Institute of Health (NIH) distributed N95 masks across Sindh, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, screeing teams were deputed at all district entry and exit points for the screening of visitors of COVID-19 patients.

The aircraft was received in Karachi with at least 50,000 testing kits, large number of face masks, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE), which were combined around two tonnes of supplies worth Rs 67 million.

[83] Also on the day, five Pakistani nationals visiting India on medical visas returned home via the Wagah border after being stranded in Noida and New Delhi due to the countrywide 21-day lockdown imposed by the Indian government.

[10] In late April, a group of senior doctors in Pakistan, and abroad, wrote to religious leaders and to the prime minister "pleading" not to open mosques during ramadan, particularly as 80% of the people attending would be mostly in their 60s and 70s.

[149] On 2 April, Pakistani authorities placed the entire city of Raiwind under quarantine, and shut down all general and medical stores after 40 Tablighi Jamaat participants tested positive for coronavirus.

[163] On 13 March, President Dr. Arif Alvi in a special tweet, advised the public to avoid participation in mass gatherings, handshaking or hugging in addition to taking other precautionary measures if they observe symptoms of flu or coronavirus infection.

[67] The National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser summoned a meeting of the parliamentary leaders of the Senate and the Lower house to review and discuss the role of the Parliament in containing the spread of the pandemic across the country for 25 March on the day.

[184] On 24 March, the Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa ordered the deployment of troops nationwide and military's medical resources to fight the ongoing outbreak alongside the national health infrastructure after the Ministry of Interior approved the action on the previous day.

[citation needed] The PM announced the formation of a youth force labelled 'Corona Relief Tigers' to help the government in the fight against the spread of coronavirus nationwide on 27 March.

Thus, the federal government decided on 29 March that highways and roads across the country would remain open to ensure the transportation of goods and also increased the number of freight trains to avert a shortage of food and other essential supplies.

[192] The Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza announced to create a fund to cover all medical expenses of sports persons infected with COVID-19 on that day.

[193] On 1 April, Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said that protective kits would be provided to the journalists covering vulnerable areas including quarantine centers.

Furthermore, newspapers hawkers would also be registered in Ehsaas Emergency Cash program; part of the economic relief package announced by the federal government, as their sales had also been affected due to the outbreak.

[206] Despite this, local media reported that many residents in Lahore had failed to practice the measures and downright defied it by opening up businesses and gathering in large numbers on various public grounds.

[86][214] The Punjab Minister for Finance Hashim Jawan Bakht said that the economic package would also help the health sector and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) cope with the crisis with an immediate funding of Rs 11.5 billion.

A 1,000-bed field hospital was completed at the Lahore Expo Centre and the Punjab government also announced on the day that it had released Rs 620 million for the establishment of eight new diagnostic labs at the divisional level to speed up the testing process for COVID-19.

[218] Punjab Chief Secretary, Azam Suleman Khan relayed to media on 6 April that field hospitals for coronavirus patients were being established across the province and two of these would be functional in Rawalpindi and Jhelum in the next three days.

[233] On 23 March, an isolation and quarantine centre was completed at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College in Karachi which also provided free tests of suspected cases with results in 8 hours of sample submission.

Multiple violations of the lockdown were observed in several places across the province such as gatherings on the beach, residents being out and major markets, shopping centres, bazaars and restaurants remained open.

[76] As a result, a taskforce meeting led by the Chief Minister was held on the next day on 25 March to take more stringent measures to ensure that all residents abided by the government orders of.

Additionally, the Chief Secretary and Karachi Commissioner were ordered to ensure that big factories remained closed during the lockdown and direct banks to keep only important branches operational.

Ajmal Wazir, the adviser to the CM stated that the government had decided on tax exemption to facilitate the business community and protect jobs with Rs 17.5 billion reserved for wheat procurement.

[242] On 30 March, the Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah made public a mobile application, namely the Sindh Relief Initiative, on which welfare organisations could register to work with the provincial government for the distribution of ration among daily-wagers at their doorstep.

The mayor also wrote to the National Disaster Management Authority, the provincial government and the Governor Imran Ismail requesting funds to provide essential equipment and ventilators to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation hospitals.

The capital's Deputy Commissioner, Hamza Shafqat issued a notification declaring 'a complete ban on intra-city, inter-district and inter-province movement of people by public transport.

[11] On 15 March, in video conference of SAARC nations on coronavirus issue, country's State Minister of Health Zafar Mirza urged India for immediate lifting of the lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir to allow virus containment measures.

[190] Making a landmark, the Pakistani Law enforcement presented the Guard of honour as a mark of respect from 27 to 29 March to the doctors and para medical staff fighting on the front lines of the global COVID-19 outbreak across the country in different cities.

[291] Fears of the coronavirus disease spreading alarmed the Sindh provincial government, who announced on 13 March that remaining matches of the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled in Karachi, would be played behind closed doors.

[citation needed] The Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza on 30 March announced to create fund to cover all medical expenses of sports persons infected with COVID-19 in Pakistan.