Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Despite strong criticism from the opposition, the government has decided to stay firm on its earlier decision against the repatriation of Pakistanis stuck in virus-hit China, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Saturday.
During a press conference, Dr Mirza said that so far, it had been confirmed that 11,947 people were affected with the coronavirus, out of which 249 had died. He added that till Thursday, the virus had been detected in 18 countries apart from China and now, after two days, cases of the virus have been detected in 27 countries.
“It is now being transferred from human to human. It means that a person affected with the virus can also become a source for the transfer of the virus.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the situation an emergency of international concern. Being a responsible nation, Pakistan wants to take steps that ensure the safety of maximum people.”
He said that the decision was finalised after a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where the latter assured that taking care of Pakistani citizens was a priority for China’s government.
On Thursday, SAPM Dr Mirza had announced that the government had decided not to evacuate Pakistanis from China, saying that such a step would be “against the larger interest” of the country.
“We believe that right now, it is in the interest of our loved ones in China [to stay there]. It is in the larger interest of the region, world, country that we don’t evacuate them now,” he had told reporters at a press conference in Islamabad.
“Right now the government of China has contained this epidemic in Wuhan city. If we act irresponsibly and start evacuating people from there, this epidemic will spread all over the world like wildfire.”
