Another suspected case of Coronavirus has emerged in Multan, increasing the number of cases to five in Pakistan. Two samples from Multan have been sent to Hong Kong for confirmation as there are no laboratories in Pakistan equipped to diagnose the pathogen. Test reports are expected to arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours. One of the two suspected coronavirus patients in Multan is a Pakistani national.
As the threat of Coronavirus looms in Pakistan, there are no laboratories in the country equipped to diagnose the deadly virus. Special Assistant to the PM on Health DR Zafar Mirza has said that Pakistan has approached the authorities in China and The Netherlands to help confirm suspected cases of passengers arriving in the country. Pakistan has already started screening passengers at four airports of the country.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak in China, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has halted flights of China Southern Airlines to Pakistan until January 31. The decision was made in a meeting of the Lahore airport management with the Chief Operating Officer Chaudhary Nazir in the chair. The meeting decided that a fully equipped medical staff will check all the passengers coming from China with thermal scanners. A medical expert from Meo Hospital will oversee the operations.
A Chinese man suspected to have contracted the coronavirus has been admitted to a hospital in Multan. 40-year-old, Feng Fen, had returned to Pakistan from Wuhan 10 days ago and was shifted from Chinese camp in Industrial Estate to Nishtar Hospital. However, National Institute of Health (NIH) has released a statement saying the case does not seem to be coronavirus and patient is stable.