317 Chinese workers found to be coronavirus-free in Sialkot as screening continues

LAHORE: Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak scare, the Chinese nationals working on projects in Pakistan are being tested for any signs and symptoms of the disease.

The Punjab health department has begun compiling record and travel details of the Chinese nationals.

In Sialkot, 317 Chinese nationals working on a power plant were tested for the virus, which came negative.

In Lahore, the provincial government also started medical examination of those Chinese nationals working on Orange Line Train and other projects.

The provincial health department officials also visited the residences of the Chinese nationals.

In Balochistan, screening centres have been set up at the border areas. 

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi assured his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Pakistani people "stand firmly with their Chinese brothers" and will provide full assistance as Beijing tackles the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

During the conversation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Qureshi that Pakistan’s offer for help and support to China in this difficult time once again highlighted the deep friendship between the two neighbours.

The US toughened its stance Friday by declaring a national emergency, temporarily barring entry to foreigners who had been in China within the past two weeks.

That follows similar steps by countries including Italy, Singapore, and China's northern neighbour Mongolia.

A virus similar to the SARS pathogen has killed 259 people in China and spread around the world since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.