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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tests positive for coronavirus

'I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home. I have now tested positive for Covid 19,' Qureshi says

By Web Desk
July 03, 2020
'By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic. I will continue to carry on my duties from home. Please keep me in your prayers,' Qureshi said on Twitter. The News/Files

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Friday he has contracted coronavirus and that he had quarantined himself at his home.

"This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home," Qureshi wrote on Twitter. "I have now tested positive for Covid 19."

"By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic. I will continue to carry on my duties from home. Please keep me in your prayers," the foreign minister added.

In the last few days, Qureshi has had contact with Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament and in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meets US special Representative for Afghan Peace Process Zalmay Khalilzad.

Qureshi also met Khalilzad on Wednesday when the US special representative travelled to Pakistan to discuss progress on the Afghan peace process.

Pictures released from those meetings showed Qureshi and others wearing face masks.

Pakistan has reported 221,896 cases of the coronavirus and 4,451 deaths. The country has continued to see around 4,000 new cases on a daily basis, despite daily testing numbers falling.

Lawmakers increasingly falling victim to COVID-19

Earlier this week, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haq, of the MQM-P, had confirmed he tested positive for the coronavirus.

A day prior to that, PPP leader Syeda Shehla Raza had contracted the deadly disease and requested people to pray for her recovery. A week ago, PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif had tested positive for coronavirus.