Senior health official says no truth in reports of Coronavirus in Pakistan

The Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Dr Zafar Mirza, has rejected media reports claiming that Pakistan may have diagnosed its first case of the Coronavirus.

Dr Mirza said in a tweet early Saturday that a section of the media is "incorrectly" reporting about the diagnosis of the first case of the novel coronavirus.

The SAPM called on the media to report with responsibility regarding the issue.

“Please do not add to the nation’s anxiety about Coronavirus and meticulously check facts before reporting. Thank you!!,” Dr Mirza tweeted.

Earlier, sources in Multan’s Nishtar hospital had told Geo News that a Chinese man was under treatment at the facility after showing symptoms similar to those displayed by patients affected by the virus.

Also read: Pakistan issues health advisory for coronavirus

The hospital sources stated that the man had returned from China a few days ago, and has been admitted in the hospital’s isolation ward.

The hospital sources added that blood samples taken from man, a Chinese national, have been sent to a laboratory for testing.

Pakistan had on Thursday started screening passengers coming from China at all airports. Countries around the world are scrambling to prevent the spread of the deadly disease caused by the new virus, which has been named "2019-nCoV".