In a shocking development, on Monday, nine new coronaviruses were tested positive in Karachi, puts the tally at 13 in Sindh and 16 in the world. Nine people have returned from abroad.
Sindh Health said five people came from Syria via Doha out of nine new cases, and others came via Dubai last week from London.
“The health department is in the process of tracking down all the contacts for further testing,” an official statement said.
Dr Zafar Mirza, the de facto health minister, also confirmed the development from his official Twitter handle.
“I can confirm 9 new cases of COVID-19 in Karachi. All these cases are contacts of an already confirmed case. Further contacts are being traced and tested. This makes a total of 16 cases in Pakistan,” he tweeted.
240/ I can confirm 9 new cases of #COVID19 in Karachi. All these cases are contacts of an already confirmed case. Further contacts are being traced and tested. This makes a total of 16 cases in Pakistan.
— Zafar Mirza (@zfrmrza) March 9, 2020
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed all government and private hospitals to share details of patients with symptoms of pneumonia so that their further medical investigations could be conducted to ensure that they have not contracted the mysterious disease.
The new case has emerged as all educational institutions in Sindh have been closed till March 13 over fears of the contagious disease’s outbreak in the province.
