KARACHI, FEB 28 (DNA) :  Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday has conducted hearing on a case pertaining to increased prices and shortage of masks in Karachi.

During the proceedings, the plaintiff said that there is no mask available at any pharmacy in Karachi over which, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked, “Who said that masks are required to prevent coronavirus infection?”

He further said that this new way is being adopted across the city to sell the masks by making the people afraid of the virus.

It is to be mentioned here that Pakistan has confirmed two cases of coronavirus, one in Karachi and other in Islamabad. However, precautionary measures are being taken to prevent outbreak of this disease.

On the other hand, some 82,560 people have been infected worldwide by coronavirus and 2,813 have died, according to the latest toll from official sources.

The number of deaths in mainland China — excluding the semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and Macao — stands at 2,747, out of 78,497 cases. Over the previous 24 hours, 433 new infections have been recorded there.

In latest count, 66 people have died outside mainland China since the start of the epidemic, out of 4,063 people infected, with 863 new cases.