Islamabad, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given a nod to turning three- and four-star hotels into �quarantine centres where the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has planned to keep coronavirus patients, a media report said on Saturday.

Last month, the NDMA had proposed to the government that the hotels in all major cities across Pakistan be converted into quarantine centres for suspected and confirmed coronavirus cases, said the Dawn news report.

Later with the federal government's consent, the NDMA also issued directives to the management of different hotels on March 16 and March 28, to vacate the premises for the purpose.

During Friday's hearing, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed that the measures taken by the federal government and the NDMA were obviously to safeguard the public at large and their fundamental rights.

Minallah observed that since it was an extraordinary situation and it was settled law that the interest of public at large prevailed over individual rights.

To contain the spread of deadly coronavirus, the NDMA had already converted many educational institutions, public halls such as Expo Centre in Karachi and Lahore and Pak-China Centre in Islamabad, hostels and even train coaches into makeshift quarantine centres.

As of Saturday morning, Pakistan has registered 2,686 coronavirus cases, with 40 deaths.