ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Tuesday denied reports that a 30-year-old resident of the province, who recently returned to Pakistan from Oman, had lost his life in a hospital due to coronavirus infection.
“We have received test reports of Imran Ali, who lost his life in Mayo Hospital, and his cause of death was not #COVID19,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “So far Punjab has 8 confirmed cases and are being provided best available treatment. I urge everyone that these are testing times & we should act responsibly!“
We have received test reports of Imran Ali, who lost his life in Mayo Hospital, and his cause of death was not #COVID19
So far Punjab has 8 confirmed cases and are being provided best available treatment.
I urge everyone that these are testing times & we should act responsibly!— Usman Buzdar (@UsmanAKBuzdar) March 17, 2020
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s National Health Ministry claimed the first death inside the country resulting from coronavirus infection.
The National Command and Control Center for Coronavirus confirmed that 30-year-old Ghulam Imran — a resident of Chowki Sukheki area of Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab — had returned from Muscat, Oman on March 15.
He was brought to the District Headquarters Hospital Hafizabad, a district in Punjab, in a critical condition with altered sensorium, shortness of breath and 100 degree fever where he later died of hepatic failure while his test reports were still awaited, the authority said.
Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid said during a press conference in Lahore shortly after the incident that the patient’s medical report from a test conducted in Oman “did not rule out the possibility of coronavirus.” She said the patient was quarantined upon return and the family was also tested which did not show any signs of the infection.
Novel coronavirus continues to spread in Pakistan as the number of confirmed virus cases reached 193 on Tuesday.
On March 13, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the country’s first National Security Committee (NSC) meeting summoned on health emergency and announced unified measures to curb the virus spread.
The country closed its western borders with Iran and Afghanistan, banned public gathering, and ordered cinemas and wedding halls for two weeks. All educational institutions in the country had also been closed until April. Pakistan also limited international flight operations to three airports — Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
Meanwhile, Tania Aidrus, head of the prime minister’s ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative, said that government launched a “chatbot” to address public concerns and give information regarding the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
“Our team wanted to build an effective way to get information out to Pakistanis. We’ve launched a chatbot to address common concerns on #Coronavirus. You can find labs near you and even do a quick test to assess your risk of #Coronavirus. Please try it out!” Aidrus said in a Twitter post.
“We’re using data analytics techniques and cutting edge technology to get ahead of the #Coronavirus. We’re trying to modernize and streamline data collection from the frontlines,” she added.
