Pakistan's first coronavirus patient heals; discharge from hospital

The first coronavirus patient in Karachi who contracted the infection has recovered, the Sindh government confirmed on Friday.

"I am very pleased to report that the 1st patient with #Sindh corona virus who was being treated has recovered and that his tests have now become NEGATIVE. Alhamdolillah, "Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab said on his Twitter account.

A spokesperson for the Sindh health department said the patient was diagnosed with coronavirus 10 days ago. However, he tested the negative virus three times in the past 24 hours and no symptoms of infection were seen in the patient in the past 48 hours. "The patient is discharged home now," he said. The Prime Minister's special assistant on health, Dr Zafar Mirza, confirmed on Thursday the emergence of the sixth case of coronavirus in the country. The most recent had also left Karachi. Punjab Minister of Health Dr Yasmin Rashid said Friday that of 48 suspected coronavirus cases in the province, 44 people tested negative and were sent home.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore to take stock of the situation, she said that three other suspected cases had tested negative on Friday as the result of one of one ; they were expected. Speaking of pilgrims who have returned to Punjab from Iran, she said that out of 3,056 pilgrims, 2,700 have been examined and returned home and 2,500 others are quarantined at the Taftan border

Rejecting rumors that the Punjab government is not ready to fight the virus, she said: "We have formed a new technical team, even at that time, it has a meeting in the office of the chief minister to decide the red lines like how many cases we are going to ban public gatherings and close schools. "

She said more than 10,000 people have been trained to deal with possible cases of coronavirus.

She said China has only succeeded in controlling the spread of the virus by "restricting movement." She said the Punjab government is creating a strategy to prevent an epidemic. "We receive a report every four hours and our surveillance center operates 24 hours a day," she said.

The minister said that the provincial government has dedicated three hospitals for coronaviruses in the province – the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Transplantation, which is fully equipped with ventilators, drugs, masks and other protective equipment; Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital in Muzaffargarh and Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute in Lahore. She said that a highly dependent unit is present and that isolation rules are in place in each district of Punjab. “We have a level 3 laboratory with diagnostic kits and we have ordered additional diagnostic kits. Kits are also available at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer and Research Hospital for free tests. We also spoke with Chughtai Lab for more tests (if the number of suspicious patients increases), ”she added.

She sought to calm people's fears about the disease. "(The virus) started in China and has spread to 82 countries … but the important news is that 50,000 people have recovered and have been sent home. It is a difficult situation because its transmission is very fast but it must be remembered that its mortality rate is around 3%. It is not like the old SARS virus, "she said.

In his remarks, the Minister of Information and Culture of Punjab, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, said that the government had launched an information campaign on the virus and had included religious and teachers.

Yasmeen Rashid said brochures have been distributed to schools and colleges to educate students about the virus. She said the mosques were also responsible for informing the faithful about the protective measures.