Ag Agencies
ISLAMABAD: Two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Pakistan's port city, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed on Wednesday.
"I can confirm first two cases of corona virus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable," Dr Mirza wrote on Twitter.
He also noted that there was "no need to panic as things are under control". The second case was reported in Islamabad and was shifted to a quarantine in the capital's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). A resident of Skardu admitted in isolation Ward of for couple of days has been confirmed positive for illness caused by 2019 novel coronavirus.
According to details, the 61-year old patient reached PIMS from Lahore. Earlier he had spent a month in Iran for pilgrimage (to visit ziarats), said Deputy Director at PIMS Dr Waseem Khawaja while talking to 'The News' Wednesday night. He said the patient has been undergoing treatment in isolation Ward and is completely out of danger.
The Executive Director at PIMS Dr Ansar Masood when contacted by 'The News' late Wednesday night, said he has not been confirmed about positive status of the patient.
While, a spokesperson for the Sindh Health Department confirmed that the 22-year-old patient — Pakistan's first case — had arrived in aeroplane from Iran and has a history of travel to Tehran from where he reportedly acquired the virus. He was suffering from coronavirus symptoms while he was in Iran, it mentioned.
The young man and his family were immediately placed in quarantine at a private hospital on the National Stadium Road. The federal health department was, as of reporting time, examining the passengers he has travelled with. Further, the provincial health department was set to dispatch a team to inspect his residence as well as his neighbourhood.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) standard operating procedures (SOP) dictate that everyone who came into contact with the infected person should be checked for the virus.
The 22-year-old's condition reportedly started to deteriorate on February 18 and he underwent a hijama, or cupping therapy, at a local health centre in Iranian city of Mashhad. After that, he suffered from a headache.
He arrived in Karachi on February 20, indicating that there were chances that the thermal screening machines at the airports for those entering the country may not have worked after all. The machines are supposed to immediately detect higher-than-usual body temperature.
Meanwhile, a woman admitted to hospital who was suffering from influenza in Jhelum on Wednesday. She was kept in quarantine as it was suspected that she might carry symptoms of coronavirus.
Talking to Geo News, Sindh government spokesperson Senator Murtaza Wahab confirmed the case and said: "All safety measures have been taken and we will take emergency steps after this case. Most arrangements are being made by the centre but the Sindh government will play its part as well." Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the provincial government was "working to procure the data of the infected" under Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's orders.
Talking Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath,’ Shah, the information minister, added that isolation wards were being set up in different hospitals around the province. "We are taking the data of all the people who were travelling with the infected person on his flight," he added.
"There are three isolation wards in Sindh, one in Civil Hospital (Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital), one in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC)), and one in AKUH (Aga Khan University Hospital). "The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Sindh, has also been alerted" in this regard. With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran. Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported 15 deaths out of nearly 100 infections -- making it one of the hardest hit countries outside the virus epicentre China.
But experts fear the measures could prove ineffective with thousands of people -- refugees fleeing violence, pilgrims, smugglers and migrants looking for work -- likely crossing the long, poorly patrolled frontiers every day.
The virus has spread to more than 25 countries, killing over 2,700 and infecting 80,000, mostly in China. But new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia have fanned fears of the contagion taking hold in poor nations which lack the healthcare infrastructure to cope. Meanwhile, Senate’s Foreign Committee Chairman Mushahid Husain has said that government should adopt that kind of strategy which has been adopted by China to cope with coronavirus.
While talking to media in Karachi he said that government should take emergency steps in this regard. He said that government should seal its borders with those countries where cases of coronavirus found.