Only five persons or 2.23% of the total of 224 suspected patients who were tested for coronavirus (Covid-19) throughout the country since the first week of February 2020 have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, officials at the National Institute of Health Islamabad (NIH) said, saying the virus has not claimed any life in Pakistan. All the five coronavirus patients, who are undergoing treatment at the health facilities in Karachi and Islamabad, had the history of travelling to Iran, officials said adding that at the moment, hundreds of people who have returned from Iran are being monitored and suspected cases are being tested for the viral disease.
The Federal Cabinet of Pakistan has rejected the Ministry of Health’s proposal for declaring “health emergency” in the country to tackle the situation.
The cabinet in its meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, emphasised on strengthening co-ordination between provinces to increase awareness about the virus among the people, said  Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq  Awan while talking to the media after the meeting.
She said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza briefed the cabinet about the coronavirus situation in the country and the steps taken by the government to  tackle it. “The cabinet was informed that in all five cases of coronavirus have been reported so far,” she added. Mirza said that all-out arrangements were being made at all the entry points of the country to screen the people coming from abroad, said Fridous, adding that the cabinet approved the health  ministry’s request for purchase of equipment to tackle the disease, with the directives to take the provinces on board.
The cabinet also called for better screening of travellers at entry points of the country and preparation of database.
The NIH, as well as the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Karachi, started testing for coronavirus in the first week of February after acquiring probes and primers from different international sources and soon after the Government of Pakistan declared them as the focal points for the testing and diagnosis of coronavirus.
The officials of NIH said 53 suspected patients were tested for the coronavirus in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), of which “only two tested positive” for the Covid-19, while 51 were found negative.
Similarly, the health authorities in Sindh tested as many as 60 suspected patients, claimed an official of the Sindh Health Department, of which “only two were tested positive” for the coronavirus infection, while 58 were negative for the viral disease.
There is a ‘discrepancy’ in the total number of suspected cases of Sindh. While the province says it had so far 60 suspects, the NIH confirms only 21 cases.
The NIH authorities, however, said only 21 suspected patients were tested for corononavirus, and of them two were tested positive while the remaining 19 were cleared of having the lethal respiratory illness caused by the global epidemic.
As many as nine people were tested for coronavirus in Gilgit Baltistan, of which one person was tested positive while all the remaining eight persons were found negative, officials said.
In the Punjab province, 68 persons were tested for coronavirus, officials said adding that all of them were found negative for the disease and added that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 suspected patients were tested for the coronavirus and all of them were found negative for the disease.
The NIH officials said eight persons from Balochistan and three from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir were also tested and all of them were found to be negative for the coronavirus.
There are unsubstantiated rumours of scores of suspects under treatment in Sindh, which however were rejected by both the focal centres ie AKUH and DUHS.
The AKUH said only one case was tested positive at the hospital’s lab for Covid-19, adding that AKUH is aware and has taken note of some individuals/groups posting fake and unsubstantiated news regarding the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and causing unnecessary panic.
In an official statement, the hospital said: “We are actively screening patients to ensure we do not miss any case. To date, only one person has been confirmed to have Covid-19 at the facility”.
The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) also rejected rumours of admitting over 400 coronavirus patients, saying at the moment, they don’t have even a single patient of Covid-19 under treatment at the health facility.
With the positive diagnosis of a 45 year-old woman from Gilgit-Baltistan, five people in Pakistan are now confirmed to have acquired Covid-19. The woman,  who is being treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), is stated to be out of danger. The confirmation came from the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, who tweeted, “We now have the 5th confirmed case of Covid-19 in federal areas. Patient is stable and is being managed well. I request the media to respect the privacy of the patient and the family.”
Meanwhile, the Emergency Core Group on Covid-19 met to take stock of ongoing preparedness and response measures. The meeting was presided over by Dr Zafar and was also attended by the Executive Director of the National Institute of Health, representatives of the Pakistan Army, and numerous other experts. “Round-the-clock monitoring is being done and emergency measures are in place to tackle the disease. The Pak-Afghan border at Chaman has been sealed for a week for further strengthening of the surveillance system,” Dr Zafar apprised the participants.
He assured that foolproof emergency measures are being taken, and requested all provinces and stakeholders to proactively contribute to ongoing efforts for control of Covid-19. “There is no need to worry; we are keeping a close eye on all aspects,” he stated.