Coronavirus threat: Isolation wards setup for Chinese returning to Pakistan: sources

ISLAMABAD: Isolation wards have been setup in Islamabad for the 300 Chinese nationals amid coronavirus threat, who are set to return to Pakistan in the current month of February, ARY News reported on Monday, citing sources.

Sources said, a Chinese company has setup two isolation wards for its employees returning from China to Pakistan amid coronavirus threat. The NIH has given clearance to the Chinese authorities in this context.

The employees, who will be brought back to Pakistan in phases, to be kept in the isolation wards for 14 days for monitoring to ensure that they are not infected of the deadly virus.

It may be noted that number of Chinese nationals, working in Pakistan on various development projects had left for their homeland on yearly vacations.

China, where the virus originated, has so far reported a total of 76,936 cases of the disease caused by the virus, known as Covid-19, including 2,442 deaths.

It may be noted that the Iranian health authorities have reported eight deaths in the country by the coronavirus outbreak that began from China’s Wuhan city. A further 45 people have been tested positive for the virus in Iran.

The outbreak in Iran began in the city of Qom, an often-visited religious destination. The health ministry official Minou Mohrez warned it had since spread to several cities, including the capital, Tehran, official IRNA news agency said.