Sindh health department reviews coronavirus prevention measures

KARACHI: The Health Department of the Sindh government on Wednesday held a top-level meeting to discuss prevention from coronavirus and review various hospitals' efforts in this regard.

Chaired by the provincial health minister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, the meeting comprised a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), leaders of vertical health programmes, and contagious diseases' experts.

It was decided in the meeting that patients suffering from cold, flu, and pneumonia arriving in Pakistan would also be specifically monitored alongside those suspected of carrying or having coronavirus. Awareness among the public in terms of safety measures would also be created.

The meeting was told that the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad had requested diagnosis kits, which were expected to arrive in Pakistan soon. The kits would significantly ease the detection process.

Recommendations related to treatment of potential coronavirus patients were also reviewed. The meeting was further told that separate wards have been allocated for coronavirus patients and that the number of beds in those wards could be increased if need be.

The development comes after the federal government announced Wednesday that four Pakistani students in China have tested positive for the deadly virus.

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 federal government says that, so far, no confirmed case of coronavirus has yet been detected in Pakistan.