Staff Reporter
Karachi
The first patient of COVID-19, the mysterious viral pneumonia-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in Sindh has fully recovered, government officials said on Friday.
The patient, a young student from a town on the edge of Karachi, would be discharged from the hospital on Saturday as his third lab test for the virus has come out negative, the officials said.
“The patient was in isolation and treatment for the past 10 days and was tested three times. The third test was done this (Friday) morning and it came out negative after which he was cleared by the authorities,” one official told media.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who was informed about the development in a meeting of coronavirus task force in Karachi, congratulated family of the COVID-19 patient and called it a great victory.
Meanwhile, after the emergence of the sixth case of the coronavirus in the country, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza shared on Friday that so far 790,000 passengers have been screened at various air and land routes of the country for the disease.
The numbers were shared by the SAPM while reviewing the precautionary steps being taken across the country to deal with the spread of the coronavirus.
The meeting was attended by federal secretary for health Dr Tauqeer Shah, Executive director of NIH and representatives of the Pakistan Army. During the meeting, the SAPM also said that adequate measures are in place at all airports and land routes.
It was decided in the meeting that the government will set up Disease Surveillance Response Unit to stop the spread of the epidemic.
Dr Mirza directed the officials that an integrated system should be in place for consistent vigilance and quick action against the disease. He instructed the authorities concerned to make sure that the DSRUs should include competent doctors and health experts.
“DSRU will play a critical role to stop the spread of the epidemic,” remarked Dr Mirza. The meeting was held after Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed sixth coronavirus in the country on Thursday.
Taking to Twitter, the SAPM said that the patient “is in clinically stable condition in Sindh and is being well taken care of.”
Meanwhile, chairing another meeting in Islamabad that was attended by representatives of different global organizations, Dr Mirza said the government is using all available resources to protect the masses from coronavirus.
He said the federal and provincial governments were working together to ensure implementation of the action plan against the coronavirus. The representatives of global organizations appreciated the government’s steps and assured full cooperation to Pakistan to cope with the challenge posed by coronavirus.
Number of pilgrims coming in from Iran to Pakistan exceeded three thousand people on Friday as the threat of coronavirus infections wreak havoc in the neighbouring country.
Pakistani authorities on the border have disclosed that all pilgrims making their way to Pakistan from Iran have been kept in isolated, quarantined areas away from the general public.
