Four Pakistani students in China have tested positive for coronavirus, confirms SAPM Mirza

ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani students in China have tested positive for the coronavirus, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed at a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The SAPM, however, refused to share the names of the affected students with the media. "The government will take good care of the students who have contracted the virus," he said at the presser. 

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The confirmation came after a group of Pakistani students in China appealed to the government to evacuate them from the virus-struck country. There are 500 Pakistani students currently studying in different universities in Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly virus.

"Four students have been confirmed to have the coronavirus. Their condition is better now,” Dr Zafar Mirza said. He said that health ministry is in contact with the Pakistani embassy in Beijing.

“Pakistani officials in China are in constant touch with all the students,” he said.

'No confirmed cases of virus in Pakistan'

The SAPM also clarified that there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pakistan yet. There were reports that four individuals, including a Chinese national, in Multan were suspected to have been suffering from the disease.

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Mirza said that their health was improving and according to the lab reports, he can say that they are safe. 

The coronavirus has claimed 132 lives since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and spread around the world.

The virus has infected people as far as North America and the United Arab Emirates. "The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention announced a case of the new coronavirus affecting people from one family coming from the city of Wuhan in China," state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday, without saying how many were infected.