ISLAMABAD: Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan said on Monday that his government had decided to ban political rallies around the country, and would cancel upcoming rallies planned by his own Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

The PM’s announcement comes as a second wave of the coronavirus has gathered momentum across the South Asian nation of 220 million people. After a peak of over 6,800 daily infections in June, the number fell to a low of 213 in August, and remained below 700 for most of the last three months.

“In the whole country, we have banned rallies,” Khan said in an address to the nation. “This is such a place where the virus spreads the fastest.”

In recent weeks, major political parties, including Khan’s PTI, have held massive rallies in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in the run up to a legislative assembly election that took place on Sunday.

Also, protesters led by religious party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) thronged to Islamabad on Sunday and continued their sit-in on Monday, raising concerns about the spreading virus.

“I have to say with sadness that we have seen that in the last ten days to two weeks, our cases have increased four times,” the PM said, saying deaths had increased to around 25 a day, from just six or seven.

“If we aren’t careful then we are fearful that … all hospitals in major cities will fill up,” Khan added. “I tell my entire nation, this is the time to take precautions.”

The PM asked citizens to wear face masks in public at all times, and urged shops, factories and mosques to strictly implement social distancing and other measures.

He said the government would prefer if people held outdoor weddings, but added that no more than 300 guests would be allowed at any type of gathering.

On school closures, the PM said there was no decision yet and the government would give educational institutes another week before it decided to shut them down or send them on extended winter vacations.

On Monday, the spokesman for the chief minister of Pakistan’s Sindh province said Murad Ali Shah had tested positive for COVID-19. Sharjeel Inaam Memon, a Sindh MP, and provincial minister Ikramullah Khan Dharejo, also tested positive for the virus.

The country recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections since July on each of the last four days, data released on Monday showed.

There were 2,128 new cases registered on Sunday, the fourth day that the daily increase has been above 2,000. More than 7% of people tested on Sunday were found to have contracted the virus, compared with between 2% and 3% during most of the last four months.