The first case of community transmission of the novel coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 disease, in Pakistan has been reported in a 20-year-old with no history of recent travel, though it is likely he contracted the disease from his father who had recently returned from the UK.
Health experts consider the community transmission of the disease as the next dangerous level through which the disease will spread.
In Pakistan, this is the first case as all the other cases had been found in people who had recently travelled abroad.
The new development has prompted the Sindh government to ban all types of social gatherings and stopped government officers from travelling.
“A 20-year-old patient was tested positive for the coronavirus, who has no travel history. His father returned from the UK recently,” Meeran Yousuf, media co-ordinator for the Sindh health department, said.
Realising the potential community transmission of the coronavirus in the province, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has announced several important steps, ordering the closure of all public gatherings in shrines, wedding halls and cinemas, in addition to teaching activities at religious seminaries and training institutions.
The marking of death anniversaries of saints would remain suspended for three weeks till April 5 in the province.
The chief minister also directed the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to take the lead in developing taluka-wise data of the families so that in case of emergency, people under lockdown could be reached for food, medicines and other related supplies, and the much-needed medical assistance.
The meeting was attended by the provincial Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, Information Minister Nasir Shah, Law Adviser Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Sindh Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Maher, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sajid Jamal Abro, Health Secretary Zahid Abbasi, and others.
Chief Minister Shah said the virus has now become a pandemic, which left his government no option but to take drastic measures to control the situation.
“It is high time to close the cinemas, wedding halls, shrines and Urs (death anniversary celebrations) … we can’t even allow marriage functions at clubs,” he said. “People can hold marriages at a limited level at their homes, but depending on the situation, any such permission can be revoked.”
The chief minister also directed the chief secretary to issue a notification in this regard.
“When the situation improves, we would reverse our decision of banning social and religious gatherings,” Shah added.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court has approved different precautionary measures, including “no handshaking”, to be observed by all those visiting the courts in the provincial metropolis.
An extended meeting of judges, presided over by Lahore Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh, decided that only those litigants or parties or officials would be allowed to enter the courtrooms, if they are specifically required, or directed, to attend a hearing in person.
A circular issued after the meeting said that only those lawyers who are supposed to argue or attend to a particular case in a court, would be allowed into the courtrooms, and no associate or junior lawyer would be permitted to accompany him.
Lawyers, litigant parties and officials are not to visit the courts if their cases were not fixed for the day, to avoid overcrowding.
“Police personnel at main gate entrance, parking entrance, main building entrance, court room premises, must wear face masks during working hours, and to not shake hands,” said the directive.
It said the floor and work surfaces of the courtrooms and the premises as well as workplaces are to be disinfected at least twice a day during working hours.
Employees whose immediate family members have been found to be infected have been directed to inform the concerned authority for further action.
The circular said all employees must wash their hands upon arrival, prior to joining their workplace across the province.
They had also been advised against shaking hands, making physical contact, or hugging each other as a form of greeting.
“All the above measures be taken till the situation gets better and the present threat of the coronavirus is averted,” said the circular.
Earlier, Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat called on Chief Justice Sheikh and apprised him of the steps taken by the government to protect the masses against the coronavirus.
The minister took the chief justice into confidence on the government’s decision to bar prisoners from appearing in courts.
He also shared details of the decision to ban public and family meetings with the prisoners.
Meanwhile, at least 10 Afghan nationals have been deported from Pakistan to their country after they were suspected to have developed symptoms similar to Covid-19.
The Khyber administration at the Pakistan-Afghan Torkham border sent back these people but declined to comment whether they had tested positive for the virus.
The Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham crossing was shut down from Sunday.
Seeking anonymity, a border official said the Afghan nationals who had recently been to China come to Pakistan via the Torkham border.
“They [the Afghan nationals] were scanned and found to have symptoms [of the coronavirus] after which they were deported immediately as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the virus in Pakistan.
“We also informed the Afghan officials about the issue and they accepted that there was a communication gap between the officials at Torkham border, the provincial health department, and the Afghan authorities, as they have not taken proper health measures on the other side of the border,” he added.
The Torkham border had been put on high alert after entry of a man exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.
According to reports received from Khyber tribal district, a resident of Islamabad showing coronavirus-like symptoms had returned from Afghanistan via the Torkham border on Thursday.
District Health Officer (DHO) Tariq Hayat told media that the man had been sent to Peshawar for special treatment, where he will be kept for a few days until his full recovery.
Hayat said all pre-emptive measures were in place at Torkham border, while the authorities are enhancing vigilance to prevent spread of the deadly virus.
The tally of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has reached 30.
The security forces closed the South Waziristan Angoor Adda border with Afghanistan yesterday until further notice.
The district administration has collected the data of all those residents of Dera Ismail Khan and nearby districts who have recently returned from Iran and other Gulf countries.