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Tag: coronavirus

  • VIDEO: Minister Saeed Ghani tests positive for coronavirus

    VIDEO: Minister Saeed Ghani tests positive for coronavirus

    Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. 

    The minister tweeted a video message to reveal that he had tested positive for the virus.

    “The previous day I got myself tested for the coronavirus and the results came back positive,” he said. “However, I am not feeling any of the symptoms of the virus and feel completely fine.”

    In the video message, Ghani went on to advise people he came into contact with a few days ago to isolate themselves and go into quarantine. 

    “If your health deteriorates further, please get yourselves checked by a doctor,” he said. “I consider it my responsibility to inform people so that those who came into contact with me can also quarantine and self-isolate themselves as I may have transmitted the infection to them.”

  • Fact Check: Does Sana Hashwani of ‘Sana Safinaz’ have COVID-19?

    Fact Check: Does Sana Hashwani of ‘Sana Safinaz’ have COVID-19?

    Claim: Sana Hashwani of the clothing brand Sana Safinaz has COVID-19

    Fact: Sana Safinaz verified through a public announcement on their Instagram that she did not contract the virus

    While dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is stressful enough, the misinformation and fake information that comes along with it is even more nerve-wrecking.

    Late last week, rumours were doing the rounds that Sana Hashwani, who is the co-owner of the fashion brand Sana Safinaz has been tested positive for the coronavirus. It was also being said that her daughter also has it and that the two attended a party despite knowing.

    Below is a screenshot of a message that was being circulated on social media.

    screenshot in social media circulation

    Following this, the brand posted an official announcement clarifying that the designer did not have the novel coronavirus and urged people not to spread misinformation. Sana’s medical reports were also shared as further proof.

    “Sana returned from the UK and took a test as a precaution so as to not endanger family members with compromised immunity,” the statement read. “She has tested negative but nonetheless placed herself under self-isolation as any sensible person returning from abroad should do at this time.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B-C9G4IgJXL/?utm_source=ig_embed

    The brand also urged the public to be more careful while sharing information and passing on “unverified slander and gossip.”

    VERDICT: FALSE

  • ‘China manipulated number of COVID-19 infections for president’s visit’

    ‘China manipulated number of COVID-19 infections for president’s visit’

    The number of novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of China’s virus outbreak, was manipulated in time for President Xi Jinping’s visit last week, a local doctor was quoted as saying by Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

    According to the Japanese media outlet, a number of symptomatic patients were abruptly released from quarantine early while a portion of testing was suspended.

    China’s health authorities had last Thursday reported no new cases of coronavirus in Wuhan, marking the first time for the city to have no instances of local transmission since the viral epidemic began late last year.

    But the doctor, who works at a quarantine facility, said the government tally “cannot be trusted.”

    The number of patients currently undergoing treatment is deliberately being reduced in an effort to show the Xi government’s success in combatting the epidemic, he said.

    The doctor, whose responsibilities include determining whether a patient is discharged from a hospital, expressed strong concerns that if the truth remains hidden from the public, another outbreak could occur.

    Guidelines from the National Health Commission stipulate that patients must test negative for the virus twice and be cleared for pneumonia via a computerised tomography — imaging through X-rays or ultrasound — scan before being discharged.

    But according to the doctor, from around the time of Xi’s visit, even though his patients still exhibited signs of pneumonia, the patients were released from quarantine at the discretion of a “specialist” from the epidemic prevention and control authority.

    From then on, the criteria for discharging patients became loose, and “a mass release of infected patients began,” he said.

    Also, patient interviews with those exhibiting symptoms such as fever were simplified, and blood tests to detect antibodies produced during infection were discontinued. As a result, “suspected patients were released back into society,” he said.

    Xi, on March 10, made his first visit to the central Chinese city of Wuhan since the outbreak began, emphasizing the government’s achievements in its epidemic prevention and control efforts.

    According to the National Health Commission, nearly 58,000 people have been discharged from hospitals in Hubei Province, where Wuhan is the capital. Beginning in mid-March, the number of new infections in Wuhan has stayed below a dozen patients a day.

  • Military discusses assisting govt in war on coronavirus

    Military discusses assisting govt in war on coronavirus

    The top military brass has held a special meeting to discuss the measures taken by the military to support the federal and provincial governments in the fight against the coronavirus.

    According to the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR), corps commanders took part in the meeting via videolink.

    The commanders expressed resolve to assist the government in its efforts to contain the pandemic. It may be noted here that Punjab and Balochistan government have sought the army’s help to impose the lockdown in the provinces.

    On Saturday, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa directed the Pakistan Army to fast-track operations to help out the civil administration as the country grapples with a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.

    “As a follow up of National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on March 20 chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and COAS’ meeting with PM, the COAS directs for stepping up Army’s assistance to civil administration for containment of COVID-19,” the military’s media-wing had said in a statement.

  • Are you kidding us, Khan Sahib?

    Are you kidding us, Khan Sahib?

    Coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamics of the entire world. Self-isolation, a concept most of us are not familiar with, will slowly but surely become necessary in the coming days. As Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau said, “For a little while, this will be our new normal.”

    But while Trudeau and very few other world leaders, including New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, declare war on the pandemic, others, among whom is PM Imran Khan, still don’t appear to be understanding the gravity of the situation at hand.

    Four coronavirus patients have died in Pakistan — three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one in Sindh. The number of cases is rapidly increasing (645 in less than a month), and if a nationwide lockdown isn’t put in place, it will continue to rise exponentially.

    After sticking to his mantra of ‘ghabrana nahi hai [don’t panic]’ for the past few days, the premier does no longer seem very sure if the masses should panic or not.

    “Pakistan cannot afford to impose a total lockdown. 25% of the people in the country live below the poverty line,” PM Imran said in his second address to the nation in three days on Sunday. “What will happen to them if I go ahead with the lockdown?”

    The premier added that if the economic situation of the country had been like that of Italy and China, he would have thought about imposing a lockdown. “Let me tell you what a lockdown is. A lockdown means putting a curfew and restricting people to their homes with the military on the streets,” he said.

    The situation escalated in Italy and China, Khan Sahib, evidently because the authorities didn’t impose a lockdown until it was too late.

    Your address to the nation and recent interaction with journalists were not exactly what we had hoped for. We understand you are worried about the poor, the daily wagers, the economy and many other things.

    But…

    After shutting down as much as the provincial governments already have, after the closure of educational institutions and the bearish trend in PSX amid global sell-out on COVID-19 fears, what further closures would a total lockdown entail?

    All international air operations are already closed. Most borders are closed. Wedding halls, shopping malls, restaurants are already shut. Massive unemployment has already been created. Moving towards total lockdown at this stage will presumably have a very little marginal impact.

    Is it paralysis of analysis which appears to be the hallmark of decision-making behind closed doors in Islamabad for quite some time now?

    In case of a total lockdown, what matters the most is taking care of the neglected segments of society – that they keep on receiving life support cash allowances or food aid. For starters, 50% of the budget of both civil and defence annual development programmes should be placed in a welfare account for such activities.

    Welfare… isn’t that what you promised, Khan Sahib?

    We know that a lockdown or delaying a lockdown is akin to be caught between a rock and a hard place. We understand that this is an immensely difficult and unforeseen situation but the government must act fast.

    Let’s learn from the mistakes made by countries that are the worst-hit by the new coronavirus, and try not to repeat them. 

    Lockdown does not mean that coronavirus cases will end, but it will definitely flatten the curve. This is what Pakistan needs to do. Our healthcare facilities are not equipped to deal with the impending crisis.

  • Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs open hotels to NHS staff free of charge to deal with coronavirus outbreak

    Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs open hotels to NHS staff free of charge to deal with coronavirus outbreak

    Former Man United footballer Gary Neville has announced that the two hotels he part-owns with former Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs will be made available free of charge to NHS workers.

    National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. It is the largest single-payer healthcare system in the world.

    Hotel Football, located near Old Trafford, and The Stock Exchange in the city centre are owned by the pair through their GG Hospitality group.

    It comes after Premier League club Chelsea offered NHS workers free accommodation for the next two months at the Millennium Hotel at its Stamford Bridge ground to help with the COVID-19 outbreak.

    The cost of the rooms will be covered by club owner Roman Abramovich.

    Neville said he and Giggs will do the same, with the scheme in place from Friday onwards in order to help accommodate medical workers during the coronavirus crisis.

    “Over the last week we have been in consultation with the health services in the Greater Manchester area, in particular the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust,” Neville said in a video posted on social media.

    “Our 176 beds will be occupied by National Health Service workers and medical professionals from Friday onwards.

    “It’s at this time that I think the whole of our industry needs to show solidarity, not just for our staff in these uncertain times but obviously for those who need the accommodation most in the coming months.

    “It’s something we’re delighted to have come into agreement with. It will operate free of charge and our staff will operate the hotels as normal.

    “The health workers will be able to stay there without any cost whatsoever in these next few months when they need isolation away from family members who may be affected by what’s going on.

    “Stay safe and we wish everybody all the best.”

    Chelsea said in its statement on Wednesday: “Many of the medical staff will be working long shifts and may not be able to travel home or would otherwise have to make long commutes. Local accommodation helps maintain the health and well-being of these crucial personnel at this critical time.

    “This will be for a two-month period, and then reconsidered in light of circumstances at the time. NHS staff will be those working in hospitals in the North-West London region, but that may extend to hospitals in other districts.”

    It added: “The number of rooms utilised will depend on demand but potentially all the rooms in the Millennium Hotel could be given over for this purpose. No staff showing symptoms will use the hotel.

    “Millennium Hotels and Resorts, who manage the hotel, are supportive and assisting the club in providing this service to the NHS.”

  • COVID-19: Doctors accuse govt of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum but not public hospitals

    As the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — continues to spread in Punjab, Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) has accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital but not public sector hospitals.

    Addressing a press conference in Lahore, YDA office demanded safety kits for the entire staff of hospitals dealing with suspected coronavirus patients, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, and termed the arrangements made by the government as insufficient.

    They said that the safety kits provided to the doctors in hospitals were not according to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and they were working under highly vulnerable circumstances. “The N95 masks are not available in the hospitals despite the fact that the staff treating [COVID-19] patients used the same mask in all hospitals worldwide,” the doctors said.

    President of YDA Punjab Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry said that the isolation wards should be established outside the hospitals according to the guidelines of the WHO. “The isolation wards inside the hospitals are high risk,” he said, adding that there was an urgent need of 4,500 ventilators in hospitals to deal with the pandemic but unfortunately Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had “failed miserably to deal with it”.

    He also accused the government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “But public sector hospitals are unable to get the same by the government.”

    According to Dr Salman, all doctors, nurses and paramedics were working in very vulnerable circumstances without proper safety kits and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would be responsible if any unfortunate incident took place.

    Meanwhile, The Express Tribune quoted an official of Shaukat Khanum Hospital as saying that around two dozen citizens approached the hospital for free coronavirus test, of whom the hospital management has conducted tests of eight or nine individuals who had recent travel history, while the remaining citizens were sent back after prescribing medicines.

    He said that the hospital had a limited number of coronavirus test kits that cannot be used for every citizen who has doubt of the infection. Responding to a question, he indicated that the government has notified coronavirus test rate of Rs7,900 but it is being conducted free of cost.

    A representative of a laboratory disclosed that it also has a coronavirus test facility against payment of Rs7,900 as notified by the government. However, several citizens complained that some private hospitals were charging over Rs9,000 for the same test.

    It is pertinent to note that that government has notified 14 laboratories for coronavirus tests, one of which is Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Lahore.

  • DC Hafizabad is winning the internet with his coronavirus song

    DC Hafizabad is winning the internet with his coronavirus song

    While some of us are freaking out about the coronavirus outbreak, others are using this as an opportunity to bring out their creative side.

    Deputy Commissioner Hafizabad Naveed Shahzad recently released an song in which he attempts to create awareness about the coronavirus and the necessary precautions to take. Shahzad has won desi Twitter with his song.

    https://twitter.com/theroygayle/status/1240551567259992065?s=20

    While we all enjoyed DC Sahab’s song, it seems a tad bit inspired by an Indian singer Tejas Gambhir.

  • Maya Ali opens up about being tested for COVID-19

    Maya Ali opens up about being tested for COVID-19

    With cases of coronavirus on the rise around the globe, governments and people are stepping up their efforts to control the spread of the virus as much as possible.

    Maya Ali, who was recently in the United States for charity events, took to social media to share that she recently took the coronavirus test and thankfully it was negative. She shared that while she waited for her results, she was filled with stress and anxiety and urged people to take the threat seriously and take all the necessary precautions.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B94WNnxiHIw/

    Earlier Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui also shared that they were going into self-isolation after they returned from their trip to the US.

    Read more – Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui are going into self-isolation together

    Meanwhile, celebrities are requesting their fans and followers to practise self-isolation in order to prevent the virus from spreading.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B9538C2nlZk/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B96gGeyJZb-/
  • Coronavirus: Provinces asked to convert top hotels into quarantine centres

    Coronavirus: Provinces asked to convert top hotels into quarantine centres

    The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked provinces to convert all 3 and 4-star hotels into quarantine centres in the fight against the new coronavirus, ARY reported.

    According to reports, the NDMA has written a letter to the federal interior secretary and all four provincial chief secretaries in this regard.

    The move comes after Pakistan witnessed an increase in COVID-19 cases over the ongoing week.

    In the letter, the NDMA has said it is necessary to take preventative measures against the coronavirus as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

    The hotels will be made into quarantine centres with one person in one room, the report said.

    It merits a mention here that the number of novel coronavirus cases in Pakistan has surged to 341 with two confirmed deaths in Mardan and Hangu.

    Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients in Pakistan stands at three.