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Thursday March 28, 2024

20 suspected coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals in KP

By Bureau report
March 07, 2020

PESHAWAR: Twenty suspected coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals in eight districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

According to Director General Health Services Dr Tahir Nadeem Khan, there was no confirmed coronavirus case in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He said of the six confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan three had been reported from Sindh, two from the capital city of Islamabad and one from Gilgit.

In KP, he said that of the 20 suspected coronavirus patients, seven were admitted in Peshawar, three each in Swabi and Swat, two each in Abbottabad and Kurram and one each in Bajaur and Lower Dir.

There are 95,333 confirmed cases of COVID-19 spreading over 85 countries, with 3,282 deaths globally till March 5, 2020. Also, some of the countries including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Gibraltar, Hungary, Slovenia and occupied Palestinian territory have reported their first cases of COVID-19. Dr Tahir Nadeem said that as a high vigilance measure, 31 persons, who travelled to Iran recently, have been contacted for presence of any signs and symptoms and all were found healthy. He said they had established better coordination with PDMA for identification and establishment of quarantine facilities. He said screening and staff presence was further beefed up at all points of entry into the province.

He added that training on preparedness and response for COVID-19 was conducted for Public Health Coordinators of all the districts with support from the WHO. He advised frequent hand washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or visiting their environment.

“People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should cover their coughing and sneezing with disposable tissue and do hand washing afterwards. If they don’t have a tissue, they should cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve, not hands,” the DG health said.