Special assistant dismisses media reports of Coronavirus discovery in Pakistan

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Dr Zafar Mirza, has dismissed media reports alleging that Pakistan may have diagnosed its first case of the Coronavirus.

Dr Mirza tweeted early Saturday that a section of the media is "incorrectly" reporting about the diagnosis of the first case of the novel coronavirus.

The official urged the media to report with responsibility regarding the issue.

“Please do not add to the nation’s anxiety about Coronavirus and meticulously check facts before reporting. Thank you!!,” Dr Mirza tweeted.

Earlier, sources informed Geo News that a Chinese man was being treated in Multan’s Nishtar hospital for the deadly virus, after the authorities found him with symptoms similar to those displayed by patients affected by it.

The hospital sources stated that the man had returned from China a few days ago, and was under treatment in the hospital’s isolation ward.

The hospital sources added that blood samples taken from man, a Chinese national, have been sent to a laboratory for testing.

Pakistan had on Thursday started screening passengers coming from China at all airports. Countries around the world are scrambling to prevent the spread of the deadly disease caused by the new virus, which has been named "2019-nCoV".