Pak confirms sixth virus case; patients are stable, says Mirza
Chairing a meeting of the emergency core group in Islamabad, PM’S aide says that every possible step is being taken by the government to stop spread of coronavirus
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Thursday confirmed the sixth case of coronavirus in Pakistan.
“6th case of #coronavirus in Pakistan is confirmed,” Mirza tweeted.
The patient is in clinically stable condition in Sindh and is being well taken care of,” he said.
Earlier, Mirza said that overall 700,000 passengers have so far been screened across the country.
Chairing a meeting of the emergency core group in Islamabad, he said that every possible step is being taken by the incumbent government to cope with coronavirus threat.
Mirza said the federal and provincial governments and other institutions are fully ready to meet the challenge and protect the people from the deadly virus.
Screening is being ensured at all airports and the ground routes, while separate rooms are being allocated in the hospitals, said Mirza.
The PM’S aide said six coronavirus cases have so far been reported in the country. Earlier on Wednesday, Mirza said that all patients diagnosed with novel coronavirus are recovering rapidly.
Addressing a conference in Rawalpindi, he said the government’s health reforms agenda is aimed at achieving the universal health coverage, adding that the primary healthcare services are being strengthened to realise this vision.
“Overall 200 cases of suspected coronavirus were tested out of which only five diagnosed with COVID-19,” said Zafar on Wednesday. The PM’S aide further said that the government was taking all necessary steps to counter the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Mirza said that the health department was not suggesting Islamabad administration to close schools in the federal capital.
Recently, Pakistan closed one of its two border crossings with Afghanistan for a week to prevent the spread of coronavirus, officials said.
The announcement came a day after Pakistan detected two new cases of the virus.
Officials said the Chaman/spinboldak crossing point would close from Monday, but a second point at Torkhum in the northwest would remain open.
Pakistan is sandwiched between China and Iran — which are both fighting major outbreaks — sparking fears about the country’s ability to cope with an epidemic of its own.
The country has suspended all flights to Iran and closed land borders.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are divided by the “Durand Line,” a 2,400-kilometre frontier with Villages straddling the border and mosques and houses having one door in Pakistan and another in Afghanistan.
Researchers are developing a coronavirus app that would soon enable people to get an at-home risk assessment based on how they feel and where they have been in about a minute, and direct those deemed at risk to the nearest definitive testing facility.
The researchers believe that the app should be available within a few weeks and will be free because it addresses a public health concern.
It will also help provide local and public health officials with real time information on emerging demographics of those most at risk for coronavirus so they can better target prevention and treatment initiatives, according to a study published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
“We wanted to help identify people who are at high risk for coronavirus, help expedite their access to screening and to medical care and reduce spread of this infectious disease,” said one of the study authors Arni S.R. Srinivasa Rao from Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University in the US.
The app will ask individuals where they live; other demographics like gender, age and race; and about recent contact with an individual known to have coronavirus or who has travelled to areas, like Italy and China, with a relatively high incidence of the viral infection in the last 14 days.
It will also ask about common symptoms of infection and their duration including fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sputum production, headache, diarrhoea and pneumonia.
It will also enable collection of similar information for those who live with the individual but who cannot fill out their own survey.