Pakistan to shut borders, limit international flights over coronavirus

Representative image.

Pakistan will shut all land borders and limit international flights for 15 days to halt the spread of coronavirus, its foreign minister said on Friday.

The announcement came after a meeting of the national security council attended by civilian and military leadership.

"It has been decided that all borders will remain closed for 15 days," minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the local ARY and Dunya TV networks. "International flights will operate only out of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports."

Pakistan borders China and Iran, both of which have been hit hard by the virus. It has reported 21 cases of the coronavirus but no deaths.