Dr Zafar directs to allocate separate wards for patients suspected of coronavirus
Dr Zafar directs to allocate separate wards for patients suspected of coronavirus
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza on Friday has directed to allocate separate wards in all the national hospitals for patients suspected of caronavirus.
Chairing a meeting of the Emergency Core Committee on Coronavirus in Islamabad on Friday, he said the committee and the Emergency Operation Cell, established at Ministry of Health, are monitoring the situation regarding the disease.
Steps are being taken on war footings under the directives of the Prime Minister Imran Khan to ensure safety from coronavirus, he asserted.
People belonging to different fields of life including Pakistan Army participated in the meeting and deliberated on the strategy to prevent outbreak of this virus in Pakistan.
Earlier, World Health Organization had declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.
The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks.
"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva.
Many countries have already urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced.
Beijing has taken extreme steps to stop the spread of the virus, including effectively quarantining more than 50 million people in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.
