13 more suspected coronavirus patients admitted to KP hospitals

PESHAWAR: Thirteen more patients were admitted to hospitals on Thursday from seven districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with symptoms similar to coronavirus, officials said.

However, so far there is no positive case of coronavirus anywhere in Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. KP Director General Health Services Dr Tahir Nadeem said that four patients, out of five, admitted to hospitals in Peshawar, were tested negative for coronavirus.

The results of the fifth patient are awaited. Three patients with symptoms like coronavirus were shifted to the hospital in Swabi district and their samples were sent to the laboratory for investigations. Similarly, one each patient was reported with similar symptoms from five other districts including Abbottabad, Bannu, Mardan, Lower Dir and Swat. The KP health department has taken precautionary measures for coronavirus and developed an alert system in which patients are referred to the Police and Services Hospital from the airport.

Under the same system, three suspected patients of COVID-19 brought to the hospital were not declared as suspected cases due to non-confirmation to case definition. Dr Tahir Nadeem said they would continue screening of suspected cases of COVID-19 at the Bacha Khan International Airport. In his advice for the public, the DG health advised people to avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infection. He said people having fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek opinion of a medical expert.

Dr Tahir Nadeem suggested frequent handwashing, particularly after direct contact with sick people or environment. He advised people having acute respiratory infection to cover their coughing and sneezing with a disposable tissue and practice hand washing afterwards if they don’t have a tissue for cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve instead of hands.

On Thursday, 53 suspected coronavirus patients were reported in Pakistan but there was neither any confirmed case nor death caused by the coronavirus. In KP, 13 suspected cases had been reported in the past 24 hours. The coronavirus had worldwide infected 75204 people and caused 2009 deaths till February 19. Outside China, the infectious disease has infected 924 people in 125 countries.