A recovered patient in Islamabad refused to donate his blood plasma after finding out that the recipient belongs to Shia sect. The middle-aged man at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was in a critical condition and the family went out in search for plasma of a recovered patient. However, the donor immediately backed out after learning about details about the recipient.
The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) on Tuesday announced that plasma therapy should not be considered as a cure for coronavirus. After increase in illegal sale and purchase of convalescent plasma, the ministry warned people about serious side effects of plasma therapy. Since CP is still an experimental therapy, it can only be safely used under controlled settings as part of research protocol.
Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) leader Akhtar Mengal announced on floor of the National Assembly that they are breaking their alliance with the ruling party. “We will be present in the House and will continue to raise our voice,” he said during the lower house session. BNP-M is represented by four MNAs in National Assembly and has one seat in Senate.
Pakistan’s first anchor and Neelam Ghar’s legendary host Tariq Aziz has passed away in Lahore on Wednesday morning. Aziz passed away due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 85. He was admitted in a private hospital last night after falling critically ill. Tariq posted his last Tweet yesterday, in which he mentioned his state of mind due to the sickness.
The police have confiscated fake Pakistani currency from an official of Indian High Commission during investigation of a hit and run case in Islamabad. The police seized fake 10,000 Pakistani rupees from official Silvades Paul. The tenure of the Indian High Commission official is to expire in December 2020, who was later handed over to senior diplomats of Indian High Commission.
An officer and two soldiers of the Indian army were killed in a “violent faceoff” on the contested Ladakh border with China, the first such incident in 45 years between the two countries. Tension on the border has been rising for a past couple of weeks, and thousands of extra troops have been deployed from both sides in the region.
While spread of the novel Coronavirus has wrecked the economy of Pakistan, certain businesses are booming. Corona patients have strained an already weak healthcare system, however, private hospitals with their better services are taking good advantage of the situation. On the other hand, various media reports suggest an organized mafia in Punjab has been actively minting millions of rupees through sale of blood plasma.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhry has predicted that Eid-ul-Azha will fall on Friday, July 31. Chaudhry said that the prediction is based upon the ministry of science’s five-year lunar calendar. The minister also noted that the Zilhajjah moon will be sighted on July 21, and will be visible over Karachi and its adjoining areas.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that the number of coronavirus cases are expected to double within next two weeks and can reach 1.2 million cases by the end of July. The minister also said that testing capacity by the end of July will be increased to 100,000 tests daily from 30,000 daily tests currently.
Governor of the Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has made the teaching of the Quran with Urdu translation mandatory in all universities in the province. The notification issued on Sunday, states that all university students, except non-Muslims, will be awarded a degree only after studying the Quran with translation. In a tweet, Sarwar revealed that it is a unanimous decisions of vice-chancellors of all universities in the province.