Two more coronavirus cases confirmed in Pakistan

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Two more cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Pakistan on Friday, taking the total number of such cases to four, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said at a news conference in Islamabad.

One of the patients is from Karachi while the other is from the federal territory, said Dr Zafar, while appealing the media to not to share the personal details of the patients.

On Wednesday, Pakistan confirmed the first two cases of the highly contagious disease.
Briefing about the first two patients of coronavirus, the PM’s aide said both of them were recuperating and one of them would be discharged soon.

One of the patient, Y* recently flew in to Karachi along with his family from Iran where he is believed to have contracted the disease. He and his family have been placed in quarantine and the health department is in the process of examining all the passengers he has travelled with.

He said it was decided in the high-level huddle attended by all stakeholders that the vigilance across all entry points of the country would be increased as to identify and shift the coronavirus patient to the isolation ward immediately.

The second COVID-19 case in Karachi emerged a day after the Sindh government decided to quarantine suspected and confirmed patients of the virus at a health facility on the outskirts of Karachi as part of its efforts to contain the infestation.

A six-member team of the Sindh Health Department on Thursday also carried out medical screening of the residents in the neighbourhood of Karachi’s first coronavirus patient.

There are growing fears in Pakistan — sandwiched between China and Iran, both hotspots for the disease — over how the country would deal with the outbreak.