No suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pakistan, Dr Zafar

ISLAMABAD: Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health recently dismissed the news of coronavirus reported in Pakistan. He refuted the news spreading by local newspapers through a series of tweet posted on micro-blogging website, Twitter.

Dr Zafar Mirza wrote in his twitter handle, "As of tonight, there are no suspected or confirmed cases of #coronavirus in Pakistan. The EOC is on high alert and we’re closely communicating with the Chinese authorities. Leading domestic and international health experts are also mobilized in this work."

https://twitter.com/zfrmrza/status/1220789925890740230

In another tweet, Dr Mirza highlighted that 'media' was reporting falsely about the case diagnosed in Multan. He mentioned that no case of Novel corona virus has been diagnosed as yet.

“A part of media is INCORRECTLY reporting about diagnosis of a first case of novel corona virus in Pakistan. We expect responsible reporting by media. Please do not add to nation’s anxiety about novel Coronavirus and should meticulously check facts before reporting. Thank you !!,” he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/zfrmrza/status/1220914951776325638

Earlier,  health authorities in China said that there was no obvious evidence of person-to-person transmission and animals were suspected to be the source of transmission of the virus, but now fears of a bigger outbreak rose after a prominent expert from China's National Health Commission confirmed that the virus could be transmitted between people.

The coronavirus is a serious disease like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and causes upper respiratory tract infection. If the symptoms of the infection are not treated properly, it can lead to lower respiratory tract infection, laryngitis, bronchitis, lung infection, and finally, pneumonia, which could become fatal for the patients.

-by Dr Muattar Hanif