Four Pakistani students in the Chinese city Wuhan are confirmed to have the coronavirus, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Dr Mirza said that a large proportion of the Pakistanis living in China are students of which over 500 students are based in the central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new virus.
The premier’s special assistant said that there were four Pakistani students confirmed to have the coronavirus.
On Prime Minister Imran Khan’s behalf, Mirza assured the families of the children that they will act a responsible government and are taking responsibility of these children and all Pakistanis in China.
“We will take care of them the same way we would care for our own children,” he said.
Mirza, however, said that no case of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Pakistan yet.
“There is not even one confirmed case of coronavirus inside Pakistan,” he said, adding that there were four individuals suspected of having the virus who were then kept under observation and their samples were collected. Mirza said that their health was improving and per the evidence, they could say with a great degree of certainty that the individuals do not have coronavirus.
The premier’s special assistant added that the cabinet had also discussed the virus during which he had presented a short briefing.
The new virus has killed 132 people and infected more than 6,000 in mainland China and abroad so far.
The United Arab Emirates, home to long haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, also confirmed its first case on Wednesday in a person who had come from Wuhan, the state-run news agency reported.
The infection is believed to have originated in a wild animal market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where it jumped to humans before spreading rapidly across the country, prompting authorities to enact drastic nationwide travel restrictions in recent days.
