Health

Pakistan Health Minister tests positive for coronavirus

Islamabad, Jul 6 (efe-epa).- The Minister of Health of Pakistan, Zafar Mirza, announced on Monday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, days after the head of Pakistani diplomacy reported that he had contracted the virus, in addition to other high positions in the Asian country.

“I have tested positive for COVID-19. Following medical advice I have isolated myself at home and I am taking all precautions. I have mild symptoms, ”Mirza said on his Twitter account, whose official title is the Prime Minister’s special adviser on Health, which is equivalent to being responsible for the health portfolio.

Mirza’s announcement comes after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced on Friday that he had contracted the virus, although he said he felt “strong and energetic.”

The cases of Mirza and Qureshi are not an exception among the Pakistani political class, since since Pakistan reported the first positive case for COVID-19 in their territory on February 26, numerous authorities have contracted the virus, although all recovered .

Prominent politicians since February include opposition leader in the lower house of parliament and president of the Pakistani Muslim League (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif; the president of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser; the governor of the south-eastern province of Sindh, Imran Ismail or Qureshi’s companion in the Executive and head of Railways, Sheikh Rashid.

Pakistan has registered 231,703 infections and 4,762 deaths from the virus, according to official data on Monday.

In the last 24 hours, 3,344 people have been infected, below the 6,895 on a day of June 13, a trend that has been maintained for the last few days, which seems to indicate that the contagion curve has started to decline in the country.

Coronavirus testing also dropped from the peak of about 30,000 daily for several weeks to around 22,000 in the past few days.

In addition, 50 people died in the last day, a figure well below the maximum of 153 deaths on a day on June 19.

The Asian country of 207 million people imposed a total quarantine in late March, which it lifted six weeks later to resort to “smart confinements” in areas hit hard by the virus to save the economy. EFE-EPA

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