President Zardari diagnosed with corona infection

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection and advised by his physicians to undergo a mandatory days-long isolation period at a privately run hospital in Karachi.

According to the president’s personal physician Dr Asim Hussain, different tests performed on Zardari had confirmed that the president had contracted coronavirus infection, said a tersely worded handout issued by the Presidency on Wednesday.

Zardari was shifted to Karachi’s private hospital from Nawabshah a day earlier to treat his fever and infection. Zardari had gone to his native town Nawabshah to spent Eidul Fitr.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif contacted the president to inquire about his health and prayed for his earliest recovery. Sindh Governor, Kamran Khan Tessori, also contacted Dr Asim Hussain to inquire about the president’s health and expressed best wishes for his fast recovery.

Dr Hussain informed Geo News that experts in infectious diseases had been treating the president, who had been barred from meeting other people during his isolation period. Dr Hussain said that the president’s health had improved.

Earlier, in a tweet, Sindh Senior Minister for Information, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said that the president was recovering fast and hoped that Zardari would soon fully recover. He said news reports taking rounds that the president would be shifted to Dubai for further treatment were incorrect.

The president, following his diagnosis, is now unlikely to attend the April 4 Jalsa at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh to mark the death anniversary of former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.