No coronavirus case in Pakistan, confirms PM’s aide

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant on National Health Services, Dr. Zafar Mirza has said that a comprehensive national plan is fully being implemented to keep Pakistan safe from coronavirus outbreak.

Chairing a meeting of coronavirus emergency core group in Islamabad, he reiterated that there is no coronavirus case in the country.

The Special Assistant said a strong mechanism has been put in place at all the airports to ensure screening of the passengers coming from abroad.

On the other hand, the death toll from China s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 2,000 on Wednesday after 136 more people died, with the number of new cases falling for a second straight day, according to the National Health Commission.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 74,185.

The death toll rose to 2,004, with most of the deaths in central Hubei province, where the virus first emerged in December before spiralling into a nationwide epidemic.

In its daily update, the National Health Commission reported 1,749 new cases of people infected with the virus nationwide, the lowest number of new cases this month.

The new infections were overwhelmingly in Hubei.

Outside the epicentre, there were only 56 new cases reported, falling for the 15th day in a row.

A study released by Chinese officials said most patients have mild cases of the illness, and health officials have described the slowing numbers as an indication that the outbreak is under control.

President Xi Jinping, in a phone call with the British prime minister, said China s measures were achieving “visible progress”, according to state media Tuesday.

However, the World Health Organization has cautioned that it is too early to tell if the decline will continue.

– WHO urges calm –

The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak surged to 2,000 on Wednesday, as Chinese and international health officials warned against excessive measures to contain the epidemic.

More than 74,000 people have now been infected by the virus in China, with hundreds more cases in some 25 countries.

The situation remains serious at the epicentre, with the director of a hospital in the central city of Wuhan becoming the seventh medical worker to succumb to the COVID-19 illness.

But Chinese officials released a study showing most patients have mild cases of the infection, and World Health Organization officials said the mortality rate was relatively low.

The outbreak is threatening to put a dent in the global economy, with China paralysed by vast quarantine measures and major firms such as iPhone maker Apple and mining giant BHP warning it could damage bottom lines.