Pakistan has confirmed two cases of coronavirus, the State Minister of Health said on Wednesday, marking the first recorded cases of the virus in the country.
“Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable,” Zafar Mirza, tweeted Wednesday. “No need to panic, things are under control.”
Dr. Mirza said he would hold a news conference Thursday.
Zafar Mirza
@zfrmrza
220/ I can confirm first two cases of corona virus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control. I will hold press conf tomorrow on return from Taftan.
5,079
4:41 PM – Feb 26, 2020 · Quetta, Pakistan
Twitter Ads info and privacy
2,565 people are talking about this
Earlier, Sindh Health Department also confirmed first case of the coronavirus in Karachi.
According to Sindh Health Department, 22-year-old Yahya took a flight to Karachi from Iran. Patient and his family were immediately placed in quarantine at a hospital.
Pakistan has temporarily closed its border with Iran to try to prevent the virus from spreading.
Origin of Coronavirus
Health officials believe the outbreak originated in a large wild animal and seafood market in Wuhan, China. Of the first 41 cases, 27 had some exposure to that market.
Coronavirus likely came originally from bats, scientists say. It isn’t known exactly where or how it jumped to humans, though. The virus is now spreading in the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Latin America and other parts of the world.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
Deaths from novel coronavirus
The virus has now infected more than 80,000 globally, killing at least 2,700.
CHINA: China has reported 2715 deaths and total of 78073 cases in the country.
IRAN: Iran’s state television says 19 people were killed by the coronavirus and the total number of confirmed cases rose to 139.
SOUTH KOREA: South Korea coronavirus cases top 1,000 with 12 deaths.
HONG KONG: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hong Kong has reached 85, with two known deaths from the outbreak.
JAPAN: Japan on Feburary 26 reported a total of three deaths from the deadly virus.
ITALY: 12 people have died in northern Italy of coronavirus, while the number of confirmed cases has risen to 374.
FRANCE: France has reported two coronavirus death.
Symptoms of the virus
The virus infects the lower respiratory tract. Patients initially develop a fever, cough and aches, and can progress to shortness of breath and complications from pneumonia, according to case reports. They might develop nausea, with vomiting and diarrhea. Some become only mildly ill, or are infected but don’t get sick. Others are mildly ill for a few days, then rapidly develop more severe symptoms of pneumonia.
