ISLAMABAD: A photo tweeted by the information minister on Thursday showing Prime Minister Imran Khan holding an in-person meeting at his personal residence in Islamabad has raised alarm on social media, with users questioning why the leader was not isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus just five days ago.
The Pakistan government announced last Saturday that the PM and first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus and were isolating at home with ‘mild symptoms.’ Khan had received his first dose of a vaccine on Thursday.
The World Health Organization recommends that people with COVID-19 symptoms remain in isolation for at least 10 days plus an additional three days without symptoms. Asymptomatic patients should remain in isolation for 10 days from the time they test positive.
“Sop [standard operating procedure] for a person positive with covid is NOT to be holding in person meetings. Seriously. What’s the point of this display?” journalist Zarrar Khuhro wrote on Twitter in response to the photo showing the PM sitting across from six others in a large room. All seven people were wearing masks, however.
“What example is the COVID-stricken Prime Minister setting for the nation?” opposition politician Ahsan Iqbal asked. “This is a very sad situation.”
“How is this possible,” chef and Twitter user Nilofer Afridi Qazi wrote on Twitter, in a query to health chief Dr. Faisal Sultan. “He has Covid, how can he be out of isolation and meeting anyone? ... horrendous optics and health messaging and irresponsible.”
Another journalist Wajahat Kazmi wrote: “Why would a COVID patient hold a physical meeting when the option of virtual meetings is easily available?”
