Staff Reporter
Karachi
Another coronavirus case has emerged from Sindh, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was informed during a briefing on the novel virus on Sunday. The chief minister was presiding over the meeting of the Sindh government’s taskforce formed to grapple with the virus.
The participants of the meeting were told that another case of the coronavirus had emerged from Karachi after a person tested positive for the infection. Four suspected patients were tested for the virus and only one came back positive. Chief Minister Murad was told that 107 samples were sent from Sindh out of which four tested positive.
The meeting was also informed that one Karachi patient had been successfully treated and had been sent home. The Chief Minister issued directives for health authorities to thoroughly check people close to the patient to determine whether they have been infected by the virus or not.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has regularly taken to Twitter to inform people that they have nothing to fear from the coronavirus and said that all undergoing treatment in Pakistan are stable and improving.
Meanwhile, none of the people quarantined at Pakistan House at the Taftan Border have tested positive for the coronavirus. They will be sent back home after staying in quarantine for a week. There were fears that travellers coming from Iran would bring the coronavirus with them so Pakistan closed the border and put all the arrivals in quarantine.
The PDMA says many people have completed a full week in quarantine and have tested negative for the virus. Over 2,000 will be sent to Quetta. So far, the number of people who crossed the border into Pakistan has been recorded at 4,000.
A quarantine centre has been set up in Quetta where 3,000 people can stay. It was set up after Pakistan House ran out of space. People will be taken there in over 30 buses. The PDMA says that once the people reach Quetta they will be screened again.
Pakistan has reported six confirmed cases of coronavirus and all of them had a travel history to Iran. Pakistan’s neighbor has reported the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside of China and thousands have been infected, including parliamentarians and government officials.
