Mahira Khan, who is celebrating her birthday in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, has thanked her fans, friends and family for their good wishes and prayers.
In an Instagram story, the actor wrote: “I’m going to try and reply to all the love and messages I have received in this time. And all the wonderful birthday messages, letters and videos too.”
Mahira shared that is better and on her way to recovery.
“Have no doubt in my heart that all of your prayers worked their magic. I felt the love, I felt it all. I love love you all,” added the actor.
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.
A labourer returned from Chennai, spent two days in jungle after allegedly being denied entry to the quarantine centre, and village in Odisha’s Ganjam district of India.
Barik Nayak reached his village after travelling on a train and then a bus. However, when he reached his village, the local residents did not allow him to enter the village.
According to Nayak, he spent two days in the jungle near his village after the Sarpanch and local administration did not help him get admitted to any quarantine center.
Later, the police took him to a nearby quarantine centre.
The federal government has abolished the 48-hour quarantine condition for Pakistanis returning home from abroad, and they would now be sent to their homes after a medical check-up and test at the airports, The Express Tribune reported.
The report stated that the government changed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) because the capacity at quarantine centres had been contracting due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
According to the new SOPs, all passengers would undergo a complete medical check-up at the airports, while the staff deputed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and provincial health departments at the airports will test the travellers for coronavirus.
After the medical check-up and the coronavirus test, the passengers will be allowed to go their homes, instead of the quarantine centre, if they do not show any symptoms of COVID-19. The decision about suspected coronavirus patients has been left at the discretion of doctors.
Under the new policy, all the passengers will be checked at the health counters of the airports. The record will carry the names and addresses of suspected coronavirus travellers and will be quarantined at home upon not showing any symptoms.
On Wednesday, the NIH team conducted medical check-ups and coronavirus tests of all the passengers including 281 travellers coming from the United States (US) and 253 travellers coming from Saudi Arabia via a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight at the Islamabad airport, after which all the travellers were permitted to go to their homes, the report said.
Meanwhile, with yet another record hike in number of infections, the tally of coronavirus cases in Pakistan now stands at 85,264 with at least 1,770 deaths.
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar has given his permission for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms to quarantine themselves at home rather than being admitted to a government facility.
According to a notification issued by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, the Punjab chief minister, on the directions of corona expert advisory group and technical working group, has advised for following standard operating procedures (SOPs), devised by the International Health Organisation (IHO) for home isolation.
He said that the patient would be kept in isolation under the supervision of the district health authority concerned in his or her house where all necessary facilities were available.
He said that such hotels, school buildings, mosques, hostels and community centres could also be used for isolation where all necessary facilities were provided by the government which would also take the responsibility to disinfect the buildings on a daily basis.
“However, buildings, where cooling and heating systems can cause the spread of the virus, cannot be used for isolation,” he made it clear.
Buzdar said that solid waste of patients would be disposed of according to the given guidelines.
The CM said that food would be provided to the patient in only disposable packs. He said that decision of home isolation of any patient would be made by home isolation committee, formed by the assistant commissioner of the area and assistant commissioner or his representative, DDO Health and chief officer of the area concerned would be members of the committee.
“Population Welfare, Livestock, Excise and Taxation staff would monitor and report about the isolation committee and three isolation committees would be formed in one union council in which at least one doctor would also be a member of the committee, whereas one committee would be constituted in a rural union council with one doctor in it,” the CM said.
The chief minister said that the committee would also review space for keeping patients in home isolation according to the number of family members whereas the family would be informed about the SOPs before allowing any patient home isolation.
“The patient would be bound to inform the authorities about his condition on a daily basis and testing protocol would be mandatory for the patient,” he said.
The chief minister said that the period of home isolation would be for 10 days and for removal of home isolation conditions, the patient had to show at least two negative corona tests and after the termination of home isolation, another test would be conducted after five days.
In case of non-availability of the test, the patient would have to stay in quarantine for more than two weeks.
We’ve seen Adnan Siddiqui essay a lot of roles on our TV screens but we never thought we’d see him as Wolverine from X-Men.
Adnan’s son Zayd recently dressed up his father as Wolverine and the actor couldn’t resist showing off his son’s skills on social media.
“This is the best time we can spend with our kids, how about letting them use their creativity on you,” wrote the actor.
“Here’s Zayd’s depiction of Wolverine (X-Men) on yours truly. Master Zayd, making his debut in direction, styling, hair and photography,” he further said. “Liked his debut?”
Last week, Adnan was involved in a controversy after television show host Aamir Liaquat made a callous remark on the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Sri Devi. After the clip of their exchange went viral on social media, Adnan regretted being on the show and apologised to the families of both the late actors for Liaquat’s remarks. Later, Aamir also apologised for his comments and said that he didn’t realise he was being insensitive.
It’s been a month or so of this new reality. Social distancing and self-isolation has turned all our schedules upside down. And for parents of young kids, that means a whole lot of chaos and moods. However, there is a lot we can do to make sure our kids get a wholesome life experience even during this very surreal way of life.
In this article I will go through the essentials that I include in a typical week to make my kids enjoy and learn from our days of social distancing.
Follow a routine
Children behave best when they know what to expect. The predictability of a routine or a set timetable gives them comfort and causes less anxiety. Hence try to start the day the same way and end it with a solid bedtime routine. Encourage kids to follow a timetable. For example, keep more educational activities in the first half when their minds are fresh, and more physical activities in the second half when you need to tire them out for bed! Repetition of this basic schedule helps children understand what is required and reduces tantrums considerably.
Since all of us are staying indoors and our activity levels have decreased quite a bit, avoiding junk and maintaining a healthy diet is essential. The healthier we eat, the more active and fresh we can be the whole day. Try your best to make majority food at home and keep all basic food groups covered throughout the day ranging from carbohydrates, meats, dairy, fats and starch to fruits and vegetables.
Screen time
Let’s admit screen time for kids translates to some me time for us adults, which is essential for our mental health. It is unrealistic to expect parents to engage with kids all the time without social lives or play dates. So revise your old rules and take each day at a time.
Fun time
It’s natural for children to want to jump around and create a mess whether that’s through arts and crafts or just free play. In these trying times don’t expect them to be robots. Let them create and imagine. In Pakistan, most houses have a garden so let them explore. And if you don’t have the great outdoors, create a space within the house which is safe for mess and fun.
Exercise
I recommend some kind of physical exercise at home for all kids. It is the best way to get their bodies energised and fit. It also helps them get a good night’s sleep. YouTube channels are a great resource for this. Whether its cardio through dance, or yoga, be sure to spend at least 30 minutes exercising.
Even though in theory us parents are with our kids day and night these days, are we really spending quality time with them all day? The answer is no and it’s normal. To think that every hour of the day will be filled with family bonding is unreasonable. In actuality, working parents are juggling between work, homeschooling, and daily chores. And stay at home parents are doing a lot of different tasks too. So take 30 minutes to an hour away from chores, work, and your mobile phones and give quality time to your kids. Whether that’s through board games or reading books together – the point is to give your children your undivided attention and make memories.
Outdoor time
Fresh air is a blessing now more than ever. Spending at least 15 to 30 minutes outdoors is known to increase happy hormones and relax anxious children and adults. So if you have a garden or any outdoor private safe space, use it! Go out for evening chai and snacks. And if you don’t, try to open your windows and sit by them for a little while to watch the blue skies. It will help your children feel better and appreciate a change in scenery.
Staying connected to God
One of the major advantages of being a Muslim is that we are reminded if the presence of a higher power at least 5 times a day. Use this opportunity to b teach your kids about Islam. Pray together if you can. Hope and faith are things that create positivity in all of us, so keep it alive as much as you can.
Staying connected to friends and family
Thanks to technology today, we can stay in touch with family and friends all over the world. Try to connect with your favourite people at least twice a week. This helps maintain relationships and helps children remember their old bonds. It creates a sense of sanity and reminds us that we are not in this alone.
Helping hands
The workload around the house has definitely increased for all of us since everyone is home all day and some of our temporary domestic help can also not come in. This means more food needs to be cooked, more laundry piles up, and in short more mess. In my opinion, these are all signs of life and laughter. So a family that uses and abuses the house together, should also clean and cook together. Encourage kids to help in all types of chores. This serves as an activity and helps pass the day in a productive way.
Boredom
Lastly, despite all of the above, there may be things you can’t manage. Some days may not have all the engagement mentioned and kids may say they are bored. To this I always say…it’s okay. Let them get bored. Boredom is actually good! It encourages them to think for themselves and sharpens their minds in more ways than giving them a well thought out activity.
Sanam Saeed, Shamoon Abbasi and the rest of the cast and crew of Ishrat Made in China stranded in Thailand for the past two weeks have finally made it back to Pakistan. They arrived via a special flight arranged by the Government of Pakistan to repatriate those stuck in Thailand and Japan.
Sanam and Shamoon, who upon their arrival in Islamabad were sent to a hotel to quarantine while they wait for their tests to be conducted have shared updates and highlighted mismanagement on part of the authorities.
Updates after landing 14th night. – exit plane in an organized fashion. – Walk through thermal screening. Get luggage. -Wait in line to board a buss going where? – Oh hotel Ramada. It’s decent. Get disinfected with a spray machine and check in. – test next day. So far so good.
– Hotel staff in protective suits checked us in one by one. Long but safe process. – Appointed officials in suits patrol the corridors to ensure everyone stays in. – Food is brought to the doors at PKR 1000 per meal. – Not tested yet. Been told to wait another 6 days suddenly.
Day 2/3 – feeling very suffocated in a windowless room. Fresh air is necessary to purify the atmosphere and body. – Suddenly, asked to pay upfront for the week last night or be packed off to Hajji Camp by 10pm till tested. – Travellers were not prepared for these surprises.
After sharing the updates, Sanam said the information being communicated to them was inaccurate and that people need to be “mentally, physically and financially prepared” for everything.
Misinformed – Travelers already stressed, nervous & financially exhausted after managing 2 weeks of lockdown abroad. – PIA ticket back cost 111k each. – Embassy assured people upon arrival the Govt will accommodate us free of cost while we wait 2 days for test & results.
Over all – We understand the Govt is doing their best to manage the sitaution. But.. – Stranded travelers need be better informed of what to expect. – Embassy must clearly state stay options and costs. – People need to be mentally, physically and financially prepared.
She also shared that they are still in Islamabad and have not gone to Karachi as yet.
Ps: we are not in Karachi yet. Plane landed in Islamabad as it is the only airport with thermal screening units installed so far. Not complaining just informing.
Sanam also thanked the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad for being cooperative.
Just did. He has been extremely cooperative and effecient. With proper communication and information we are now mentally prepared to go through the sop.
In the end, Sanam shared a message for all her followers.
A message – the Govt needs us to do our part and follow instructions strictly. – Deviant behavior causes the next batch trouble. Don’t be selfish. – @ndmapk@PTIofficial please ensure that appointmented officials provide better, accurate information instead of giving false hopes.
We have been told the policy changed and updates come directly from WHO. Just our luck, apparently policy was changed as we were all boarding the flight. New rule is 7 day pre test quarantine for accurate test results. So let your father know he is here for another week at least.
While the coronavirus has made the whole world to go under lock-down but it has not stopped Pakistani singer Sajjad Ali from creating music. The singer recently released a new song Dost on April 10 for his fans across the world.
Sajjad Ali not only wrote the song but recorded it while practicing social distancing. He released the song on various social media platforms.
Ali took to social media and wrote, “This video has been made during the ongoing two-week, 24-hour complete lock-down.”
The song is melodious with beautiful lyrics. The video of the song only featured Ali, keeping in view the rules of isolation.
