GB resident tests positive for coronavirus at PIMS

ISLAMABAD: The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has confirmed two cases of coronavirus ( COVID-19) in Pakistan.

The first case was reported in Karachi where the tests of a 22-year-old patient was found positive at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).

The second case has been reported at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

According to PIMS, a 61-year-old patient,  resident of Alchori village of Shigar district, has been confirmed positive for coronavirus.

The patient was admitted in isolation ward for couple of days. He reached PIMS from Lahore.

The hospital has reported his condition completely out of danger.

The PIMS source has informed media that the patient had spent a month in Iran for pilgrimage.

The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan has taken various measures to stop the spread of the virus in Gilgit-Baltistan. Health department has established isolation wards at hospitals in all districts. The district administration has imposed ban on hunting of migratory birds.

Assistant Commissioner of Gojal Sub-Division, Hunza, has opposed opening of the Khunzhrav Border without taking precautionary measures, in view of the Coronavirus (Convid-19) epidemic that has affected all of Pakistan’s neighbouring countries.

In a letter to the District Health Officer Hunza, the Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Zulqarnain Khan has advised to establish screening centers at Khunzhrav (15,500 ft high border crossing), and Sost, the first border down on the KKH. AC has also directed the DHO to contact the provincial and federal health ministries.

“If border is opened without safety and precautionary measures, it will not only become a cause of spreading the deadly virus but will also affect the tourism badly,” the letter reads.

Meanwhile, all activities at Pakistan-Iran border remained suspended for the fifth consecutive day. Iran’s death toll is the highest than any country other than China. 19 people have died of coronavirus so far.

The Pakistan-China border remains closed from Nov 30 to April 1 every year.

The virus was originated from China’s Wuhan city, where it has killed more than 2,700 people so far.

According to World Health Organization, the virus has infected over 80,000 people globally, with over 78’000 cases in China.