An Egyptian man threw his wife from the fifth floor of the apartment because she had coronavirus.
According to reports, the 25-year-old woman survived the fall and was shifted to a hospital, where she had surgery for spinal injuries. The husband has been apprehended while an investigation is underway.
The man told officers that he and his wife were already arguing and had decided to separate. The tension became worse when he found out she had contracted COVID-19.
“I was afraid of becoming infected,” he told police. “My wife took three tests, which all confirmed she was infected. So I asked her to leave the house. When she refused, I pushed her.”
The police is now waiting for the wife’s recovery and quarantine time so she can give her statement.
Meanwhile, Dr Aly Mazyad, who is treating the patient, said that the hospital had set up a special operating theatre in its quarantine department because the woman was infected with the coronavirus. The infection was stable but she remained in critical condition and could take months to fully recover, he said.
Amid statements from other government members regarding coronavirus cracking netizens up, it has emerged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Riaz Fatyana thinks eating locusts, an infestation of which is threatening food security in Pakistan among other South Asian nations as well as in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and South America, could end the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is said that eating locusts can lead to the eradication of coronavirus,” reports quoted the senior PTI MNA as saying.
ٹڈیوں کےبارے میں کہا جاتا ہے کہ اس کوکھانےسےکورونا ختم ہوسکتا ہے،ریاض فتیانہ
The 2019-20 locust infestation is an outbreak of desert locusts which is the worst in 70 years in Kenya and the worst in 25 years in Pakistan, India, Ethiopia and Somalia.
The outbreak began with heavy rains in 2018 in the Arabian Peninsula in spring 2019, swarms spread from these areas, and by June 2019, the locusts spread north to Pakistan, India, Iran and south to East Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa. By the end of 2019, there were swarms also in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and Oman.
By June 2020, another swam appeared in South America, affecting Paraguay and Argentina while as of April 2020, efforts to control the locusts were being hampered by ongoing restrictions in travel and shipping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to reports, around 37 per cent area of Pakistan is more vulnerable to the attack. This includes 60 per cent area of Balochistan, 25 per cent area of Sindh and 15 per cent area of Punjab.
“If the desert locust is not contained, Punjab and Sindh may become summer breeding zone of the pest,” said a report submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) by Punjab government through Additional Advocate General Chaudhry Faisal Hussain earlier this month.
It said desert locust appeared in Punjab’s Cholistan area in July last year. In November last year, locust swarms started migration toward Balochistan and South Punjab.
Federal Education Minister on Monday said the government was considering reopening of schools under the implementation of COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Talking to the mediaafter a meeting at the minister’s office, the minister said suggestions had been taken from the private schools and Madaris of all provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Mahmood said a meeting had also been arranged with the Ministry of Health in this regard, and that the decision would be taken keeping in view the NCOC data. He said the education ministry also discussed with those countries that had opened schools under various SOPs through UNICEF.
The minister said according to the Gallup Survey, around 70% of parents were willing to send their children to school under COVID-19 SOPs.
“We want to end the uncertainty on the basic important issue like education,” he said.
The minister hinted at holding a press conference on the issue to take parents into confidence after the preparation of a road map.
While the Provincial Minister of Punjab for School Education took to Twitter and stated that there is no definite date announced for reopening of schools in the province.
There is NO definite date for opening of Schools in Punjab. FAKE NEWS is being spread around. Right now we are working on SOPs which will be required when the schools open. We are preparing now rather than later unlike previous Governments used to do (Last Minute). Safety # 1.
While explaining the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, in a talk show, said that COVID-19 means that the coronavirus has 19 points that can be applied to any country based on the immunity levels of the people.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBq1pYBp0TU/
Feb2020, WHO announced an official name COVID-19 for novel coronavirus outbreak In COVID-19 CO’ stands for ‘corona VI’ for ‘virus D’ for disease and 19 for 2019(year it emerged) But according to highly educated minister, 19 stands for whatever points, any country wanna adopt pic.twitter.com/50ELJ0YPKl
Meanwhile, Zartaj was unfazed by the criticism and said that such trolling does not bother her.
روزانہ ٹی وی پر گھنٹوں بات کرتی ہوں، پرچی کے بغیر۔
کہنا چاہتی تھی کہ وباء کا اثر، شدت مختلف ممالک میں مختلف ہیں۔
چند لمحوں کی خطاء پر یوں ماتم کناں ہونے کی بجائے اپنی جماعتوں کے حشر نشر پر توجہ دیں تو شائد ان کے حق میں بہتر ہو۔ تنقید سے نہیں گھبراتی، اور مظبوط ہوتی ہوں۔
A 40-year-old man died at a hospital after his family members allegedly unplugged the ventilator he was on to plug in an air cooler.
Hospital authorities said a three-member committee will probe the incident.
According to reports, the patient, who was suspected to be suffering from COVID-19, was brought to the ICU of the government-run hospital in the Kota city of India’s Rajasthan state on June 13. His test report, however, came negative later.
The man was shifted to an isolation ward on June 15 as a safety measure after another patient in the ICU tested positive for the disease.
Since it was very hot in the isolation ward, his family members bought an air cooler the same day. On finding no socket for the cooler, they allegedly unplugged the ventilator.
They immediately informed doctors and medical staff, who administered CPR upon the patient, but he died.
Hospital Superintendent Dr Naveen Saxena said the committee comprising the deputy superintendent, nursing superintendent and chief medical officer on duty will probe the incident and submit a report.
The committee has recorded statements of medical staff in the isolation ward but the family members of the deceased patient are not responding to the panel, he alleged.
The family members allegedly did not seek permission to plug in the cooler and when the patient died, they “misbehaved” with the medical staff and the resident doctor on duty, other hospital authorities said.
Saudi Arabia has announced that it will strictly limit the number of people who can take part in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage because of the coronavirus, putting to rest the fears that Hajj might be cancelled altogether. Saudi Hajj Minister Mohammed Banten had asked Muslims to delay finalising their plans “until the situation is clear” back in March.
In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that the annual Holy pilgrimage would be restricted to a very limited numbers of pilgrims of all nationalities who are already residing in Saudi Arabia. The statement said that as COVID-19 cases continue to grow globally, and because of the risks of coronavirus spreading in crowded spaces and from other countries, the Hajj will “take place this year with a limited number of pilgrims from all nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia only, who are willing to perform Hajj.”
“This decision is taken to ensure Hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective while observing all preventative measures and the necessary social distancing protocols to protect human beings from the risks associated with this pandemic and in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings,” the statement added.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri shared the Urdu version of the press release and said that the KSA’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah contacted him via telephone to let him know about Saudi Arabia’s decision about this year’s Hajj.
سعودی وزارت حج و عمرہ نے حج کی ادئیگی سے متعلق پریس ریلیز جاری کر دی، سعودی وزیر حج و عمرہ کا وفاقی وزیر مذہبی امور پیر نور الحق قادری سے ٹیلی فون پر رابطہ، ڈاکٹر صالح بن بنتن نے حج سے متعلق فیصلے سے باضابطہ طور پر آگاہ کیا: عمران صدیقی ترجمان مذہبی امور #HAJJ2020pic.twitter.com/h4K9BzaQdy
— Ministry of Religious Affairs & Interfaith Harmony (@MORAisbOfficial) June 22, 2020
Hajj is one of Islam’s most important religious obligations. Recently, singer Atif Aslam expressed his desire to recitethe Azaan at the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqat has announced that following a sharp rise in cases in Sector G-6/2, G-6/1, G-10/4, G-7/2 and Ghori Town, the areas will be sealed in next 36 hours. The DC asked residents to plan their activities accordingly.
We are about to seal Sector G-6/2, G-6/1, G-10/4, G-7/2 and Ghori Town in next 36 hours. There were more than 40 cases/area in last few days. There were more than 25 deaths reported. Residents are requested to please plan accordingly.
— Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) June 22, 2020
Earlier, Sector G-9/2, G-9/3 were also sealed to curb the coronavirus cases.
Lock down of Sector G-9/2, G-9/3 and Karachi Company is extended for another 3 days. Cases are being evaluated on daily basis. Surveillance teams have collected over 600 samples from suspected individuals since the lock down. My request is to plz cooperate ✅
— Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) June 20, 2020
While talking to the Arab News, Islamabad’s Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat told that the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan’s federal capital has significantly decreased in the wake of the smart lockdown in the city.
10,912 coronavirus cases have been reported in Islamabad so far.
The effects of poorly managed or no lockdowns at all are raising their ugly heads as Pakistanis has reached the 14th position in the global ranking of countries most affected by the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — with 165,062 cases, while it now ranks 6th among nations with the most number of active cases around the globe, as per Worldometers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year warned that South Asia could become yet another new epicenter of the pandemic, however, despite the warning and rapidly increasing number of coronavirus cases, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has only announced the imposition of “smart lockdowns” with only certain areas in worst-hit cities being put under restrictions.
The decision was taken keeping in view the consequent struggles of the poor, whom the government believes might not be able to survive a complete lockdown and its effects on the already deteriorating economic conditions.
While experts, including Dr Attaur Rahman of PM’s task force, believe the government has already failed to deal with the pandemic and is grossly under-reporting both COVID-19 fatalities and infections, the virus is yet to peak — by the end of July or August –, data suggests.
An analysis by The Current showed that before lockdown restrictions were eased in Pakistan ahead of Eidul Fitr, the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 24,648 during the first week of May. The figure then crawled up to 122,574 by June 11, while the number of coronavirus cases as of this moment stands past 165,000 with thousands of cases being reported every day despite a low testing capacity.
It is estimated that the actual number of infections is very high with Lahore alone having more than 2 million cases by now.
Pakistan has experienced its largest month-wise jump since the pandemic began, with 69,910 cases being reported between May 6 to June 6. Earlier, 3,858 COVID-19 cases were recorded between March 6 and April 6 while 20,209 were reported between April 6 to May 6.
According to projections, the figure is likely to reach a million by August 6 if strict lockdowns aren’t imposed and social distancing guidelines are not followed.
A comparison with the best and worst managed lockdowns from across the globe also puts things into perspective.
Country
Outcome
New Zealand
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a strict lockdown on March 25 when 100 people had tested positive and no deaths had been reported.
After a 76-day lockdown, New Zealand lifted all restrictions, declaring the country ‘corona free’ but borders remain closed. No new case for more than two weeks has been reported in the country except three suspected ones.
Wuhan
The capital of Hubei province of China was the origin of the deadly virus, where 11 million residents were locked up at their homes since January.
After an effective 77-day lockdown, Hubei reports zero COVID-19 infections and the country has reported zero coronavirus deaths since January.
On the other hand:
Country
Outcome
India
On March 25, India imposed a countrywide lockdown that was called a curfew by PM Narendra Modi. The development had come when 519 confirmed cases and 10 deaths had been reported across India.
A bit over two months later, with India easing lockdowns and shopping malls, restaurants as well as temples being re-opened, it has become the country with 4th highest number of coronavirus cases in the world.
Iran
Iran shut schools, postponed events and discouraged travel since the country reported its first COVID-19 death in February. Despite these measures, the number of deaths and infections continued to grow until a countrywide lockdown was imposed in March.
With the lockdown being eased from mid-April to May 26 when everything was reopened, including shopping malls, parks, religious shrines, restaurants and historical sites, the number of deaths has jumped to nearly 10,000 with over 200,000 infections.
By the time this report was filed, Sindh topped the chart with most infections in Pakistan (62,269), with Punjab trailing behind at 61,678, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at 20,182, Islamabad at 9,941, Balochistan 8,998 and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) at 1,225 and 769 infections, respectively.
Pakistan is understating its rate of infections and the death toll from the coronavirus, the head of a government task force has said as the country becomes a hotspot for the pandemic in South Asia, Bloomberg reported.
“The actual numbers will be two to three times more than what the government is reporting,” Dr Attaur Rahman, chairman of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s task force on science and technology, said and added that a large number of cases weren’t being reported because of low testing and as reasons other than respiratory failure weren’t being counted in deaths.
WATCH VIDEO:
Pakistan’s coronavirus cases have increased manifold since the government eased a lockdown in the second week of May after a partial shutdown of about two months. PM Imran has said he is allowing some businesses to open as he fears people will die of poverty and hunger instead of the virus. Alarmed by the rising number of cases, the authorities have again started shutting down residential localities in 20 key cities including the federal capital and Lahore.
Pakistan is the second most infected nation in Asia after India with over 150,000 cases and about 3,000 deaths. The fatality rate of 2% is less than half of the 5% global average.
Random testing in Pakistan’s second-largest city, Lahore, by the health department of Punjab in May showed that at least 6 per cent of all tests came back positive for COVID-19 while in some areas the percentage was as high as 14 per cent, Voice of America reported.
Based on the city’s population and the sampling data, the health department working group, comprised of epidemiologists, public health specialists, applied economists, statisticians and public policy specialists, calculated the number of cases in Lahore to be 670,800 on May 15.
The rate at which the infection was spreading alarmed those involved.
“Our calculations said the numbers were doubling every two weeks,” said Dr Waheeduzzaman Tariq, a senior virologist who was part of the group and sits on multiple government committees dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
According to those numbers, on June 15, the figure should be approximately 2.7 million infected people in Lahore alone.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has acquitted Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza after probing his alleged involvement in the smuggling of protective masks amid COVID-19 pandemic.
According to FIA sources, no allegation was proved against Dr Mirza as the petitioner failed to provide evidence of his allegations during the agency’s investigation into the export of 20 million masks to China.
Sources said that according to FIA’s report, no collusion was proved in issuance of permit for export of the masks and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) allowed the export under rules and regulations.
It may be noted that the complaint in this regard was registered by Young Pharmacists’ Association (YPA) Secretary General Dr Furqan Ibrahim with the PM’s Complaint Cell.
According to the complainant, 20 million masks were smuggled out of Pakistan allegedly by the SAPM in collusion with DRAP Deputy Director Ghazanfar Ali Khan.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also decided to launch an inquiry into the allegations against Dr Mirza.
