ISLAMABAD (BLOOMBERG) - Two of Pakistan's top ministers tested positive for the coronavirus, as the south Asian nation becomes a hot spot for the pandemic in South Asia.

Health Minister Zafar Mirza said in a Twitter post Monday (July 6) he has isolated himself at home after suffering "mild symptoms".

Last week, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirmed he was infected with the virus.

Pakistan's Covid-19 cases have increased manifold since the government eased a lockdown in the second week of May after a partial shutdown of about two months.

While the government estimates the cases will rise to more than a million by end of July, Mr Atta ur Rahman, chairman of Prime Minister Imran Khan's task force on science and technology, said last month that the authorities are understating its rate of infections and the death toll from the virus.

The south Asian nation's coronavirus cases have increased to 231,818 as of Monday, with 4,762 deaths.