'COVID-19 patients should pay attention to quality diet, water intake'

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza, has confirmed that he has tested negative for coronavirus and advised COVID-19 sufferers to pay special attention to their nutrients and daily consumption of water, ARY News reported on Sunday.

Dr Zafar Mirza, while talking to ARY News programme ‘Sawal Yeh Hai’, said that 237,000 people have recovered from the virus in Pakistan.

Elaborating his own experience after being tested positive, Dr Zafar Mirza said that he has isolated himself over the advice of doctors.

“I was not having a respiratory issue at that time, however, I felt weakness and body pain. In my experience, we should take care of our diet and consuming more and more water.”

“People should focus on the quality of nutrients instead of quantity. I am also a doctor but I hadn’t taken any medicine without consulting other doctors.”

“Self-medication could be dangerous for all of us. Every person has different symptoms and medicine should be prescribed in accordance with it. After consulting the doctor, I had only taken doses of Panadol.”

Mirza admitted that the victim of viral infection could also face overwhelming stress, especially during the isolation period. He said that he recited the Holy Quran with its translation during his isolation days besides reading other books.

The special assistant on health warned that a coronavirus patient recovered from the virus could get infected again. He stressed special care during the days of Eidul Azha festival and Muharram month or the country could witness spike in coronavirus cases.