No Confirmed Novel Corona Virus Case In Pakistan: Mirza

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2020 ) :Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Sunday said there was no report of any confirmed Novel Corona Virus case from any part of the country.

In a statement, Dr Mirza said the reports about cases in Multan were inaccurate and that utmost vigilance was being maintained. An Emergency Operation Cell at the Federal health ministry was monitoring the situation round the clock.

He said as per standard guidelines and procedure any traveler from China having flu-like symptoms had to be isolated and monitored.

"Let me assure the people that the government is closely monitoring the situation and all necessary measures are being taken to screen all travelers from China." He said thermos scanners and thermo Guns had been provided to well trained health staff at airports in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to screen all passengers. Separately, a special dedicated team was assigned for screening of passengers arriving via flights from China.

However, China has closed its outbound direct flights to Pakistan due to Chinese spring festival.

According to the current schedule, South China Airline flights will resume from January 29 and China Airlines flights will resume from February 3.

He said instructions had been given to all major hospitals to make arrangements to receive possible cases and provide them necessary care. "We have established contact with all provincial chief ministers, provincial health departments and relevant ministries including Interior dealing with immigration, aviation division and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to ensure there is seamless coordination and that our efforts are synergized, timely and effective." Considering that there will be heavy influx of travelers from China after 8th of February 2020 when the celebrations of Chinese New Year conclude, all relevant authorities had been asked to carry out robust surveillance for screening at the points of entry at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi airports alongside seaports and land crossings, raising public awareness and ensuring hospital preparedness for management of potential cases, Mirza added.

"I am personally monitoring the situation and we are meeting every 48 hours with heads of hospitals, health institutions and all relevant departments to review the situation and take necessary measures for optimal level of preparedness and mitigation in the event we have a suspected case. We are establishing a help line to be functional from Wednesday for information on the disease and to respond to queries." He said there was absolutely no cause for panic or alarm. People need to take simple precautions for prevention against common flu like covering the nose and mouth while coughing and sneezing, frequent hand washing for 20 seconds with soap, avoiding close contact with sick people, avoid contact with animals, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, he added.

He said those who have or a person near them have traveled to or from China, within the last 14 days and developed suggestive symptoms including unexplained fever, cough or breathing difficulty, should seek medical attention.

He said Novel Coronavirus was a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hebei Province of China. The facility to confirm the new virus through a laboratory test was only available in a few countries of the world.

However, the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad is fully equipped to isolate corona viruses closely related to the Novel Coronavirus and thus the virus can be confirmed by excluding other types of Coronaviruses. "We are in touch with Chinese authorities and kits to test for Novel Coronavirus will be received in a few days." He said Novel corona virus (2019-nCoV) with animal origin identified as the cause of this outbreak had to date caused at least 2000 cases and 56 deaths in China.

Other countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and United States, France and Australia have also reported few confirmed cases with travel history to China.

He said there was no vaccination or specific antiviral treatment for this respiratory illness. Currently, there was no recommendation for restricting international travel or trade.