Turkish speaker wishes Pakistani counterpart recovery

ANKARA The Turkish parliament speaker on Saturday wished speedy recovery for his Pakistani counterpart who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "I’m regretfully informed that my dear brother, colleague Mr. Asad Qaiser, Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan, and his family members got Covid-19 positive," Mustafa Sentop said on Twitter. "May Allah hasten recovery; bestow good health and strength for him and family members," he said. Qaiser, the speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, confirmed Thursday he tested positive for the coronavirus. He is in home quarantine after results. The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan, which is the hardest-hit country in South Asia after India, reached 18,770 on Saturday, with 432 deaths and 4,753 recoveries. More than 3.36 million cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the virus emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe the world’s hardest-hit areas. A significant number of COVID-19 patients -- over 1.06 million -- have recovered, but the disease has also claimed close to 240,000 lives so far, according to data compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.