Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Thursday confirmed a fresh case of coronavirus in the country, bringing the total to six.
“Sixth case of coronavirus is confirmed. The patient is in clinically stable condition in Sindh and is being well taken care of,” he said in a tweet. He appealed to the media to respect the privacy of the patients and their families, and avoid sharing their personal details. There is no need to panic as things are under control, he said.
The fresh case of coronavirus has been reported in Karachi. The patient has been identified as a 69-year-old male residing in the city’s District East.
“In the present situation, we need to focus on prevention and showing of responsibility,” he said. In case of any suspected coronavirus patient having disease symptoms, information should be shared immediately with the health officials, doctors or direct to the health ministry’s helpline number 1166, he said.
He said the government has made all necessary arrangements to have check on suspected coronavirus patients and its further spread. He said citizens with travel history of Iran and China having coronavirus disease symptoms should immediately contact medical experts. He said an effective screening mechanism has been adopted at all points of entry to check coronavirus patients. He said a proper screening mechanism has also been developed at all airports, besides availability of personal protection equipment kits for health staff and regular surveillance. He expressed the hope that due to better health strategy, there is no chance of outbreak of disease in Pakistan.
Dr Mirza said during the last one month, the federal government has taken several steps and adopted the standard operating procedure (SOP) about the disease. Due to these steps, Pakistan is the only country in the region where the coronavirus case was reported in the last, while cases had already been reported in all the neighboring countries, including China, Iran, Afghanistan and India. He urged media to play positive role in providing information to the people regarding coronavirus. He said the federal and provincial governments are on the same page and implementing a unified policy to protect Pakistan from the virus.
Taking notice of the fresh case in Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed officials to trace and test all those who have been in contact with the patient.
Media Coordinator to Health and Population Welfare Minister Meeran Yousuf confirmed that the patient was a resident of District East in Karachi. “The patient had returned from Iran on February 25. The health department was already monitoring the situation, so when he started showing symptoms, officials took his samples and sent them for testing,” she said. “The patient is currently in isolation at a hospital, while his family members have been quarantined for the time being,” she said, adding that there are now three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Sindh. Meanwhile, Islamabad and Tehran on Thursday agreed to work together to limit the coronavirus outbreak, after nearly 3,000 people, including senior government functionaries, were confirmed to have contracted the virus in Iran.
The agreement over a joint response was reached during a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Iranian counterpart Jawad Zarif, Radio Pakistan reported.
Qureshi told Zarif that Pakistan is ready to extend its full support to Iran in coping with the virus. “Pakistan regrets the loss of precious lives in Iran due to the epidemic,” he conveyed to his counterpart.
According to BBC, cases linked to Iran have also been reported by Afghanistan, Canada, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the number of people quarantined at Pakistan House in Taftan has overwhelmed the space’s capacity and authorities are now shifting travellers to another place. Quoting Customs officials, a TV channel reported that more than 3,000 people have currently been kept at two quarantine centres in Taftan.
The Chaman border with Afghanistan and Taftan border with Iran remained closed on Thursday in an effort to prevent coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan. Only pilgrims have been allowed to cross the border, however they are being kept at the quarantine centre for proper medical checkup.
