First coronavirus patient from Karachi recovers

KARACHI: The first patient of the novel coronavirus in Karachi who contracted the infection has recovered, confirmed Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab on Friday.

“Very happy to inform that the 1st coronavirus patient in #Sindh who was being attended to has recovered and his tests have nowcome out as negative. Alhamdolillah," he tweeted.

The Sindh health department spokesperson said that the patient had been diagnosed with the coronavirus 10 days ago. However, he had tested negative thrice for the virus over the last 24 hours and no symptoms of the infection have been observed in the patient over the past 48 hours. "The patient will be sent home today after his result comes back negative again," he said.

Meanwhile, another coronavirus suspected patient in Abbottabad was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital's isolation ward. According to the Medical Superintendent DHQ, Aqeel Bangash, a woman namely Nighat Bibi came back from Umrah five days ago and visited the hospital for a routine check-up. The doctors found some symptoms of coronavirus and admitted her to isolation ward.

Meanwhile, the Saudi government reopened Masjid AL-Haram in Makkah and Masjid-i-Nabawi in Madinah after they were closed for sterilisation to halt the spread of coronavirus. According to the Gulf News and private news channels, the courtyard adjacent to Khana Ka’aba was got vacated from pilgrims and closed from the Esha prayers to Fajr prayers. Saudi Arabia closed the sites to foreign pilgrims and traditional tourists from some 25 countries to stop the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Iran’s foreign minister who took part in the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis has died from coronavirus, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Hossein Sheikholeslam, “a veteran and revolutionary diplomat” died late on Thursday, IRNA said. Iran has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus, which so far has infected 3,513 people and killed at least 107 people in the country.

Six of those who died from coronavirus are politicians or government officials. Before his death Sheikholeslam was adviser to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. A former ambassador to Syria, he also served as deputy foreign minister from 1981 to 1997.

The novel coronavirus has also claimed the lives of other high profile Iranian officials, including Mohammad Mirmohammadi of the Expediency Council which advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Other deaths linked to the virus include Mohammad Ali Ramezani, an MP from Gilan, one of the worst-hit provinces in the country.

Tehran MP Fatemeh Rahbar is currently in a coma after being infected, according to ISNA news agency. Iran has closed schools and universities, suspended major cultural and sporting events and reduced working hours across the country to halt the rapid spread of coronavirus, which has spread to all of its 31 provinces.

Meanwhile, poultry prices in India dropped over the threat of coronavirus. It also said that citizens and residents of Gulf Cooperation Council countries wishing to enter must wait 14 days after returning from outside the region.

Meanwhile, Italy on Friday reported 49 more deaths from the new coronavirus, the highest single-day toll to date, bringing the total number of fatalities over the past two weeks to 197.

The total is the second-highest in the world after China. Italy also saw its number of COVID-19 infections grow by 778 to 4,636, the fourth highest after China, South Korea and Iran.

The Italian government has been watching closely to see if the cases are spreading from the richer north, where infections had largely been contained during the first 10 days of the epidemic.

All 22 Italian regions have now registered cases, and one new death was reported Friday in the Lazio region that includes Rome and its outskirts. But there were no new deaths reported in the south, which recorded its first and only fatality in the southeastern region of Puglia around the city of Bari on Wednesday. The number of people receiving intensive care grew to 462 from 351 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, US technology giant Facebook on Friday said it was shutting its London office until Monday for a "deep clean" after an employee visiting from Singapore was diagnosed with coronavirus.

"An employee based in our Singapore office who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 visited our London offices from February 24 to 26, 2020," the company said in a statement. "We are, therefore, closing our London offices until Monday for deep cleaning and employees are working from home until then."

The company said it was getting in touch with individuals who had direct contact with the person infected, and had asked them to self-isolate and monitor for any potential symptoms. Coronavirus has infected more than 100,000 people across 91 countries, while more than 3,400 people have died.

A total of 163 people have currently tested positive for the virus in Britain, and one person has died, health authorities said Friday.