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2020 coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan

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2020 coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan
COVID-19 Outbreak Cases in Pakistan.png
Map of regions with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan by 16 March 2020
  Confirmed cases reported
  Suspected cases reported
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationPakistan
First caseKarachi
Arrival date26 February 2020
(3 weeks)
OriginIran
Confirmed cases245 (MoNHSRC confirmed)[1]
Recovered2[2]
Deaths
0

This article documents the impacts of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan, and may not include all the contemporary major responses and measures.

Overview

Province or territory Cases[1] Deaths Recoveries
 Punjab 26 0 0
 Sindh 172 0 2[2]
 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 17 0 0
 Balochistan 15 0 0
 Azad Kashmir 0 0 0
 Gilgit-Baltistan 3 0 0
 Islamabad 8 0 0
 Federally Administered Tribal Areas 0 0 0
Grand Total 241 0 2

As of 18 March 2020, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 241, out of which 172 are from Sindh.[1]

Timeline

Main article: Timeline of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan

February 2020

On 26 February, Zafar Mirza, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Health, stated in a tweet: "I can confirm first two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable."[3][4]

The first patient was a student at the University of Karachi, Karachi in Sindh province. The second patient is from the federal territory of the country.[5] Both patients had recently returned from Iran.[6][7]

Within a week of the first two cases, Pakistan confirmed three more cases, including a case in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad and also in Rawalpindi, Punjab.[8][9][10]

March 2020

The fifth case was also reported, on 2 March, from the federal area of the country,[11][12] of a 45-year-old woman from Gilgit, Baltistan, who had also travelled from Iran.[13]

On 6 March, Murtaza Wahab announced that the first patient in Karachi had fully recovered and was later discharged from hospital after testing negative.[14][15] On 8 March, Pakistan confirmed its seventh case of COVID-19, also in Karachi.[16]

The next day, Pakistan reported nine new cases in Karachi, meaning that there was a total of 16 cases of COVID-19, with Sindh having the highest number of cases, 13 altogether.[17] Five of the new patients had travelled to Syria and some others patients had returned from London. Three new cases were confirmed on 10 March, including one in Hyderabad and the first case in Quetta, Balochistan.[18][19]

On 11 March, 76 suspected cases were reported in several districts of Punjab province, including Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Hafizabad and Lodhran. The Healthcare Department officials informed that ten patients were immediately cleared of the suspicion, while 55 patients were cleared after testing negative. The test result of the remaining 11 suspected patients is still awaited.[20]

Also on that day, a second case in Gilgit-Baltistan was confirmed in Skardu. The patient is a 14-year-old.[21]

On 12 March, there was a third case found in Gilgit-Baltistan, a 31-year-old resident of Shigar district, who had a travel history of Iran. The spokesman said that the patient is under treatment at the Skardu hospital.[22] On the same day, Murtaza Wahab informed that the second patient of the virus have been completely recovered.[2]

On 13 March, the Sindh Health Department identified a 52-year-old patient as positive, which marked the first case of local disease transmission, as the patient had travelled from Islamabad.[23][24] 24 of the 27 suspected cases in Khyber Pakhtunkwa were also cleared that day.[25] By the end of the day, the total number of cases had risen to 28, with seven new cases in Taftan.[26]

On 14 March, the number of cases rose to 33. Three new patients were found positive in Karachi while one was reported in Islamabad. Later, it was also reported that a woman who was found infected in Islamabad has transitted the virus to her husband as well.[27]

On 15 March, five more cases were announced in Karachi, including a second local transmission of the coronavirus in Sindh, while the other three had a travel history of Saudi Arabia and one had a local travel history of Balochistan.[28] There was also a new case reported in Islamabad Capital Territory.

The news cases were confirmed by Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab in a tweet. “More results have come in. So far 50 people who had arrived in Sukkur from Taftaan have tested positive, 25 at Karachi and 1 at Hyderabad. So the total patients have reached 76 in Sindh. Out of these 76 patients, 2 have recovered and the remaining 74 are being kept in isolation,” he said. Earlier in the day, the Sindh health department had reported four new cases in Karachi.

Meanwhile, Lahore Health Secretary Mohammad Usman confirmed the first case of coronavirus was found in Lahore, Punjab. The infected patient came back from United Kingdom on 10 March 2020 and was shifted to Meo Hospital in an isolation ward.[29] On the same day, another 13 tests from Sukkur came positive from the pilgrims that came back from Iran at the Taftan border and were kept in quarantine after being suspected cases.[30] This brought the total of 53 in Pakistan, while 15 March 2020 has recorded the highest number of people tested positive to date, with a total of 19, in a single day so far.[31][32]

On 16 March, 83 new cases of virus were confirmed raising the toll to 136.[33] Of these new cases, 15 were confirmed in Dera Ismail Khan. These had returned from Taftan and were kept in quarantine in Darazinda, Dera Ismail Khan.[34]

A total of 119 positive cases in Sukkur were confirmed on 17 March.[35] 52 new cases were announced. The total number of cases in Pakistan rose to 237.[36]

Other cases

On 29 January 2020, four Pakistani students studying in China were tested positive for COVID-19. It was confirmed that all four of the students had recovered on 12 February. Two other Pakistani students recovered on 14 February after being hospitalised in Guangzhou.[37]

No deaths due to the coronavirus have been recorded so far, according to government data. [38] Pakistan identified a positive case of a Pakistani national at the Torkham border, on 12 March. It was reported that it was a Pakistani embassy employee from Kabul.[39][40]

Government response

Federal

After confirmed reports of hundreds of cases in neighbouring China, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as a security step introduced screening measures at four major airports: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.[41]

Pakistan also closed its border to travellers from Afghanistan at the Chaman border (since 2 March) and from Iran (until 7 March; and later from 16 March) at the Taftan border, after 43 cases were reported during the coronavirus pandemic in Iran.[42][43][44][45] It will also close all land borders, including the China-Pakistan border with China from 16 March.[46]

On 13 March, President Dr. Arif Alvi in a special tweet, advised the public to avoid participation in mass gatherings, handshaking or hugging in addition to taking other precautionary measures if they observe symptoms of flu or corona virus infection.[47][48]

Also on that day, Shafqat Mahmood that at the National Security Council meeting with PM Imran Khan, it was decided that all schools and universities would be closed until 5 April.[49] However, the faculty and staff will go to work as usual. The lectures/classes will be held online in some institutions i.e., Riphah International University, FAST NUCES University, Institute of Space Technology.

It was also announced that Pakistan would completely seal its land border with Afghanistan and its land border with Iran from 16 March for at least two weeks.[50]

From 13 March, Pakistan stopped all international flights, except those at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports.[51]

Provincial

The government of Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, started taking steps to prevent the spread of this virus. The provincial government constituted a 14-member technical committee.[52]

Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, announced the closure of all educational institutes in Sindh until 30 March, which was later extended until 30 May.[53][54] The Government of Sindh also announced that the remaining PSL matches at National Stadium, Karachi would be held behind closed doors, on 12 March.[55] The Sindh Government imposed a temporary ban on marriage halls, lawns, banquets, piyala hotels and tea stalls functioning after 23:15 hours.[56]

Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also announced to close all educational institutes until 31 March and postponed all festivals and events until further notice as a preventive measure, though no confirmed case has been reported yet in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[57] The teaching staff will also not be permitted to enter schools, colleges and universities.[58]

Gilgit-Baltistan Government declared medical emergency in the province after more cases of coronavirus reported. Educational institutes are further closed until 31 March as a preventive measure.[59]

The Pakistan Day Parade, scheduled to be held on 23 March, was cancelled.[60]

Effect on sports

Main article: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on sports § Cricket

Fears of the coronavirus disease spreading alarmed the Sindh provincial government, who announced on 13 March that remaining matches of the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled in Karachi, would be played behind closed doors.[61][62][63] Similarly, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) offered international players participating in PSL to leave for their home countries (if they wish so), while PSL continues as per schedule.[64] 10 international players and one international staff member opted to leave the tournament.[65] The Final match in Lahore, was rescheduled to 18 March instead of 22 March.[66]

As on 17th March 2020, The knockout fixtures (Both Semi Finals and Final) of Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been indefinitely postponed due to the sudden spike in coronavirus cases in Pakistan.[67][68]

After six years, when Pakistan Football Federation League returned, the matches were played before 16 March 2020. On 16 March 2020, the Pakistan Football Federation released a notification announcing that the matches were postponed.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c "COVID-19 Daily Situation Report – NIH Pakistan" (PDF). www.nih.org.pk/. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
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  3. ^ "Two coronavirus cases confirmed in Pakistan - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
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