Tag: coronavirus

  • PSL Player Alex Hales clarifies reports that he has coronavirus

    PSL Player Alex Hales clarifies reports that he has coronavirus

    After reports that Karachi King’s player Alex Hales was being tested for coronavirus, the English player has issued a statement clarifying that he has not been tested yet for the virus but is expected to be tested soon. He says that he left Pakistan healthy but woke up with a fever and a cough and has been in self isolation since then.

    READ MORE: CM Buzdar rubbishes reports of first COVID-19 death, says deceased tested negative

    Alex Hales’ statement

    The statement comes after rumours that Alex Hales had tested positive for coronavirus, which he addressed on Twitter. After journalist Ajmal Jami tweeted a Gulf News story that Hales had tested positive for coronavirus, Hales replied to Jami’s tweet, which Jami later deleted.

    https://twitter.com/AlexHales1/status/1239872849155940352
    Alex Hales responds to Jami

    After Hales’ tweet, Jami clarified his tweet on Gulf News’ story.

    RELATED: ALL CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

    Earlier, Ramiz Raja had confirmed that Hales was being tested for the virus but later clarified on twitter that Hales was in self quarantine.

    Ramiz Raja confirms that Hales is being tested for the virus

  • CM Buzdar rubbishes reports of first COVID-19 death, says deceased tested negative

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar has rubbished reports claiming that the individual who passed away at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital was suffering from the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — and marked the first fatality in Pakistan due to the global pandemic.

    Earlier, it was reported that Pakistan’s first death due to coronavirus had been reported in Lahore. Reports that had come following a viral video that showed the deceased being brought out of the hospital in a coffin by staff in hazmat suits, had not drawn any official statements except Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid saying that results of the patient’s coronavirus test were still awaited.

    A private media outlet had, however, quoted health officials as saying that the patient “did die due to coronavirus”.

    “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 [sic],” Buzdar tweeted later in the day.

    He further urged everyone “to act responsibly” in these testing times.

  • Coronavirus: PM wants rich countries to waive off Pakistan, other poor countries’ loans

    Coronavirus: PM wants rich countries to waive off Pakistan, other poor countries’ loans

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that rich countries should waive off the loans of poor countries in order to help the latter curb spread of the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — that has become a global pandemic.

    In an interview to a foreign media outlet, the premier predicted that the novel coronavirus would destroy the economy of developing countries. 

    “In case we get swamped by this virus, our health facilities will not be able to cope with it,” he added.

    He also urged the United States (US) to lift sanctions over Iran as they were in a terrible state due to the pandemic and the sanctions had already impoverished Tehran.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    To a question, PM Imran regretted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s statement about Taliban. “Solution to the Afghan conflict lies in talks between the shareholders.”

    He said after coming to power, his government had worked on the Afghan Peace Deal with the US and Pakistan was an ally of the US for peace as he had always opposed Islamabad’s inclusion in the war against terror.

    “An extremist government is ruling over India and I have apprised the United Nations (UN) about the grave rights violations of Muslims in India by the Modi government,” he said.

  • Karachi King’s Alex Hales being tested for coronavirus

    PSL’s Karachi King’s player Alex Hales is being tested for coronavirus, confirms Rameez Raja. He showed symptoms of the virus after he reached England and is currently in isolation. All the broadcasters and cricketer affiliated with the PSL will have to undergo coronavirus tests before heading home – whether that is in Pakistan or outside of it.

    The final matches of the PSL were postponed indefinitely amidst the coronavirus crisis.

    Raja confirms the news and also says that he and other members of the PSL are being tested for the virus. Earlier, Geo Reporter Arfa Feroz Zake had confirmed the news.

    The total cases of the coronavirus in Pakistan has hit 193.

  • Coronavirus: SAT exams cancelled

    Coronavirus: SAT exams cancelled

    The College Board has announced that it has cancelled two upcoming SAT exams due to coronavirus concerns.

    Tests scheduled for May and makeup exams for the March have also cancelled and registered students will receive full refunds, the College Board said in a statement.

    A new date has not yet been announced for additional SAT testing opportunities.

    “The College Board will remain focused on student safety and ensuring all students have the tools they need to work, and opportunities to receive the credit they have earned, during this challenging time,” the statement read.

    The news comes as schools nationwide have temporarily shut down over coronavirus alarms. Many colleges and universities have also moved to online classes.

  • ‘Recovered’ coronavirus patient dies

    A 36-year-old man, who was discharged from one of the makeshift hospitals built to contain the coronavirus outbreak, has died of respiratory failure in Wuhan, according to a report by a Shanghai-based news portal.

    South China Morning Post quoted the news portal as reporting that Li Liang had been admitted to the hospital built to treat patients with mild and moderate symptoms on February 12, according to his wife, surnamed Mei. He was discharged two weeks later with instructions to stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days.

    Mei said her husband was not feeling well two days after leaving the hospital, with a dry mouth and gaseous stomach. On March 2, Li said he felt sick and was sent to a hospital, where he was later certified dead.

    The death certificate issued by the Wuhan health commission said the direct cause was COVID-19, and listed respiratory blockage and failure as the symptoms which could have led to his death.

    Since the death earlier this month, Fangcang Hospital — one of Wuhan’s makeshift facilities — has been issuing emergency notices saying that more discharged patients have been readmitting after falling ill again. The hospital is currently conducting antibody tests on all patients before discharging them, to ensure they are fully recovered.

    Last month, Xinhua — the official state-run Chinese press agency — had reported that the country had discharged a total of 36,117 patients from hospitals after recovery.

    The criteria for deciding if a patient has recovered varied between provinces, but in general, Chinese hospitals required people to test negative twice in a row, and to show no obvious symptoms such as a fever. Patients who were released were supposed to check in with their hospital and could face retesting — which was when some tested positive again.

    The Current had also quoted a key Chinese respiratory disease expert as saying that some discharged coronavirus patients could still carry the virus and be infectious, potentially posing another complication to Beijing’s efforts to control the epidemic.

    Zhao Jianping, the head of the coronavirus containment team in worst-affected Hubei province, had said a minority of patients who were discharged from hospital after tests showed they were negative for the virus later tested positive again. China counts patients whose throat or nose swabs show up positive for the virus in a nucleic acid test, and those whose CT scans show lesions in their lungs, as infected cases.

  • Coronavirus: ‘Don’t panic,’ says Imran’s aide as Pakistan records highest single-day rise in cases

    Coronavirus: ‘Don’t panic,’ says Imran’s aide as Pakistan records highest single-day rise in cases

    Pakistan on Monday recorded its biggest single-day spike in coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 184, amid reports of ineffective quarantine procedures many of those are reported to be among those who had been held at a quarantine camp at the country’s Taftan border crossing with Iran.

    Dera Ghazi Khan authorities confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on Monday, raising the provincial count to two cases. The patient, who was among the 814 persons quarantined at a facility in DG Khan, had arrived from the Taftan border. DG Khan Health CEO said that the patient, a resident of Layyah, had been shifted to Indus Hospital Muzaffargarh.

    DG Khan Commissioner Naseem Sadiq said that another five patients, suspected of having contracted the virus, had also been shifted to Indus Hospital Muzaffargarh

    With an addition of 47 new cases, the tally of coronavirus cases in Sindh reached 150. According to a spokesperson for the Sindh health department, 119 of the cases arrived in Sukkur from Taftan, 30 are from Karachi while one is from Hyderabad. Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that the “exponential increase is largely due to the recent inflow of people brought in from Taftan after a purported quarantine”.

    Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed the provincial police chief to carry out raids on stores and pharmacies that are selling overpriced tissue papers, hand sanitisers and anti-septics.

    The Sindh government is also contemplating closing restaurants and tea shops by 9 pm, as the number of coronavirus cases in the province continues to rise. “I am now adopting a zero-tolerance policy,” Chief Minister Shah was quoted as saying in a statement by his media consultant. “If our people stay out and visit eateries until late at night, I will shut down restaurants and hotels,” Shah added.

    However, as per the government data, no deaths due to the coronavirus have been recorded.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan also chaired a meeting of the country’s national coordination committee on COVID-19. No major announcements were made following the meeting.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) also reported its first cases of coronavirus, confirming 15 positive cases. KP Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra tweeted that 15 out of 19 individuals who arrived in the province from Taftan have tested positive for the virus.

    “They are being well looked after in quarantine in an isolated facility in Dera Ismail Khan,” he wrote.

    ‘DON’T PANIC’:

    With the coronavirus scare intensifying due to the sudden spike in the number of infections in Pakistan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that the government has extended its emergency measures, including travel restrictions and a ban on public gatherings to the entire country to tackle the coronavirus.

    Addressing a press conference, Dr Mirza said that there was no immediate need to lockdown cities in the country as the situation is “still under control”.

    He assured the public that the current preventive measures adopted by the health ministry are sufficient to control the spread of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan, adding, that measures would be tightened up if the situation turns more serious.

  • Police arrest fake doctor selling ‘vaccine’ for coronavirus

    Police arrest fake doctor selling ‘vaccine’ for coronavirus

    Karachi police arrest a man who was posing as a doctor and selling a ‘vaccine’ for the treatment of coronavirus in Defence.

    “Defence police has arrested one fake doctor, Syed Didar Ali, who was malignantly and fraudulently selling fake vaccine for COVID-19 at West Point Clinic, DHA Phase 2 Extension,” said Clifton Superintendent of Police Imran Mirza.

    READ MORE: Need authentic coronavirus updates? Follow these Twitter accounts

    A first information report (FIR) was registered against the suspect under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating or dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

    RELATED: KP CONFIRMS ITS FIRST 15 CORONAVIRUS CASES

    To date, there is no vaccine for coronavirus and has yet to be developed. As of now, countries are still scrambling to get enough test kits to confirm the virus in suspected cases.

    There are 183 confirmed cases in Pakistan with 150 cases in Sindh, 15 in KP, 10 in Balochistan, one in Punjab, two in Islamabad and five in Gilgit Baltistan.

  • Shehzad Roy wants citizens to practise social distancing

    Shehzad Roy wants citizens to practise social distancing

    Singer turned activist Shehzad Roy has appealed to his followers to practise social distancing to save themselves from contracting the coronavirus.

    In a video message posted to social media, Roy said, “I got the opportunity today to go to CM House, Sindh and meet the task force dealing with the coronavirus. I was very happy to see how serious the government is and it really is a serious situation.

    “I want to request everyone not to shake hands with each other even if someone wants to. Don’t do it, even if they feel insulted. Don’t get together for weddings or religious reasons,” he asserted. “On my way, I could see that everyone was at Sea View beach like it’s New Year’s or a holiday, people were celebrating.”

    He added, “We need to behave like ashraful makhlookat. This is a very dangerous situation. We don’t want to panic but we also need to save each other; we don’t want things to get so bad that we need to go on lockdown.”

    “Lets practice social distancing and try to infect the least number of people.”

    Meanwhile, other celebrities are also advising people to practise self-isolation.

  • Need authentic coronavirus updates? Follow these Twitter accounts

    With the coronavirus spreading fast, misinformation on the matter is also spreading with the same speed causing panic among citizens.

    For the most authentic information on the matter, follow the following Twitter accounts.

    Dr Zafar Mirza, State Minister of Health of Pakistan

    Murtaza Wahab

    Taimur Khan Jhagra, Health Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Musarrat Cheema, Spokesperson of the Government of Punjab

    https://twitter.com/MusarratCheema/status/1239242495956934656?s=20

    Liaquat Shahwani, Spokesperson of the Government of Balochistan

    UNICEF also requested people to beware of misinformation and take all coronavirus related information from official platforms.

    Meanwhile, The Current is also posting all updates regarding the coronavirus on its live blog. You can visit the blog here:

    Coronavirus