ISLAMABAD/SEOUL: While the first two people to have acquired coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pakistan are well on the path to recovery, another two were confirmed as having contracted the disease on Saturday — one in Islamabad and the other in Karachi.
“Four persons are now being treated for COVID-19 in Pakistan; one in Sindh and the other in the federal area,” the PM’s Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza announced at a joint press conference also addressed by Minister for Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan here at the National Institute of Health.
“All four patients are being handled according to clinical protocols. Contact tracing is underway, and we will make sure that all concerned are well taken care of,” Dr Zafar stated. Withholding specific details, Dr Zafar urged the media too not to publicise personal information of people, and to respect their privacy in line with medical and journalistic ethics.
Sharing a case update, Dr Zafar said, one of the first two persons to have been diagnosed with COVID-19 has recovered to the extent of being discharged from hospital quite soon, while the other is also showing marked improvement. “Pakistan was the 48th country in the world and the last in the region to have acquired the disease among 57 countries currently grappling with the virus. The fact that all our neighboring countries acquired the infection before us shows that effective measures were in place at our Ports of Entry,” Dr Zafar stated.
The SAPM then shared key decisions taken during the course of a three-hour multi-stakeholder consultation convened on Saturday for review of the National Action Plan for COVID-19. The high-level meeting was attended by all provincial chief secretaries, as well as federal secretaries of relevant ministries, among others.
Dr Zafar said the meeting decided that surveillance on Ports of Entry will be reinforced so that any person having COVID-2019 is identified and quarantined there and then.
Referring to his Taftan trip, he said, a comprehensive plan has been prepared on what protocols to adopt when receiving pilgrims from Iran as they return home. “Air traffic between Pakistan and Iran will remain suspended, only to be resumed when deemed appropriate,” he added.
Dr Zafar said, how much Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Pakistan may require in the event of an outbreak has also been estimated, and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is being entrusted with stockpiling and import of PPEs.
The SAPM added that a committee with representatives from the ministries of Health and Information, as well as ISPR, has been constituted to launch a national awareness campaign on COVID-19. Moreover, an advisory detailing information about the use of masks will be released by the Ministry of Health today (Sunday). “Please do not panic; not everyone needs a mask. There has lately been a lot of concern about shortage of masks, which has arisen because people have needlessly started buying and even hoarding masks out of panic, thereby creating an artificial demand,” he said adding, “the prices and supply of masks will automatically get streamlined once people understand who needs to use a mask and when.”
Dr Zafar said, while COVID-19 is a reality and has spread to 57 countries, it can effectively be controlled with the adoption of a two-pronged approach.
Responding to a query, Dr Zafar said, educational institutions should serve as platforms for student awareness so that they learn what precautions to adopt for self-protection. “There is no need to close school,” he said.
Earlier on, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan emphasised the need for across-the-board political consultations and ownership of the National Action Plan on COVID-19. “We have a session of the Parliament on Monday and a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. In today’s meeting, we have agreed that all stakeholders including the country’s entire political leadership at the provincial, federal, district, tehsil, or Union Council levels will play a role in raising awareness and mobilising public engagement for control of COVID-19.” Dr Firdous said Pakistan does not face an emergency-like situation vis-a-vis COVID-19.
“The UN has declared Pakistan as a safe destination; our cricket grounds are now populated; so responsible journalism is the need of the hour. The slightest bit of misinformation on your part can economically destabilise Pakistan,” she said to the media in conclusion.
In a tweet on Saturday Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said there was no need to get panicky about corona-virus, which was curable. She noted that to deal with coronavirus, all necessary measures were being taken and that it was not an ailment, which could not be cured. However, she emphasised that precautionary steps must be taken, particularly ensuring hygiene, being so crucial.
She added that for the Muslims, especially, cleanliness is half of faith. She shared on her account a dua in Arabic with Urdu translation for safety against ailments.
Meanwhile, South Korea reported its biggest surge in new coronavirus cases on Saturday as concerns grew of a possible epidemic in the United States and the World Health Organization raised its risk alert to its highest level.
The virus has rapidly spread across the world in the past week, causing stock markets to sink to their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears that the disease could wreak havoc on the world economy.
More than 2,900 people have died and over 85,000 have been infected worldwide since it was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
The vast majority of infections have been in China but more daily cases are now logged outside the country, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging as major hotspots.
South Korea has the most cases outside China, with 3,150 infections as 813 more patients were reported on Saturday -- the country´s biggest increase to date.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the "serious consequences" of failing to prevent an outbreak on their side of the border. The impoverished nation, with a weak and ill-equipped healthcare system, has closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease into its territory.
The virus has also spread to new zones in recent days, reaching nine new countries including Azerbaijan, Mexico and New Zealand, as well as reaching sub-Saharan Africa with Nigeria reporting its first case.
"We have now increased our assessment of the risk of spread and the risk of impact of COVID-19 to very high at global level," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Friday.
European nations are scrambling to contain the outbreak as new infections mounted in several countries -- many linked to virus hotspot northern Italy -- including in France where a surge of new cases was confirmed Friday.
President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday chaired a ministers´ meeting on curbing the outbreak, after officials warned the epidemic had reached a "new stage".
Meanwhile in the US, health officials reported three more cases of the new coronavirus transmitted to people who did not travel overseas or come in contact with anyone known to be ill, indicating the disease was spreading in the country.
There are now four such cases in the United States, all on the Pacific seaboard, in addition to some 60 other infections in the country.