ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Health Ministry has been on high alert since theCoronavirus first broke out in Wuhan. Medical staff deployed at allairports evaluate every passenger for symptoms of Coronavirus who comesfrom a foreign land.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been assisting the medical staff atall airports and has set up thermal scanners to identify potentialCoronavirus carriers.*5 Passengers Suspected for Coronavirus*
Doctors from CMH Lahore tested every passenger of Etihad Airlines flightEY-243 from Abu Dhabi which landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport inthe early hours on Friday.
According to reports, at least four passengers, two Pakistani and twoChinese, were found to be potential virus carriers. All suspected patientshave been quarantined at a special ward at Services Hospital.
Moreover, doctors have sent the test samples of all suspected patients tothe National Institute of Health (NIH) at Islamabad for further evaluation.
At the Islamabad International Airport, a Pakistani passenger, who camefrom Yunnan, China, was found to have unusually high body temperature uponarrival.
Medical staff immediately shifted the passenger to the isolation ward atPIMS over fear of Coronavirus.*3 Admitted to PIMS*
According to Dr. Waseem Khawaja, spokesperson for PIMS, three people havebeen quarantined after they were admitted to PIMS for exhibiting symptomsof Coronavirus.
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Dr. Waseem Khawaja said:
We have sent the test samples of 2 locals and a Chinese national to NIH forfurther evaluation. All 3 patients have been kept in the isolation ward atPIMS.
Test reports of another Chinese national, who had been admitted to PIMS forpneumonia, have turned out to be negative, PIMS spokesperson has confirmed.The patient will be released from the hospital after completing thenecessary 2-week isolation period.*No Confirmed Case of Coronavirus in Pakistan*
Although some suspected cases of Coronavirus have been reported inPakistan, none of the suspected patients were diagnosed with the deadlyvirus that has killed more than 600 people so far.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, convened ameeting of Emergency Core Group of the Ministry of Health to evaluate themeasures undertaken to contain the Coronavirus from spreading in Pakistan.
