Pakistan’s point person on the coronavirus disease, Dr Zafar Mirza, has himself contracted Covid-19.
Dr Mirza announced on Monday that he was isolating himself at home after testing positive for the coronavirus disease.
In a tweet, the special assistant to the prime minister on health said that he was experiencing “mild symptoms” and was taking all precautions. He also applauded the services of his colleagues, saying “Keep up the good work! You are making a big difference and I am proud of you.”Last week, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also tested positive for the disease.
Dr Mirza has been at the forefront of Pakistan’s strategy to fight Covid-19. He has been severly criticised by various quarters for his inability to get a coordinated strategy in place.
Both Dr Mirza and prime minister Imran Khan have been accused of implementing a muddled strategy under which the country’s Covid-19 numbers are amongst the highest in the region.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Covid-19 tally on Monday crossed the 2,31,000-mark after 3,344 new infections were detected in the last 24 hours. So far, the disease has claimed the lives of 4,762 in the country.
Out of the total infections, Sindh province reported 94,528 cases, Punjab 81,963, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 28,116, Islamabad 13,494, Balochistan 10,814, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,561 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 1,342.
Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services said that 56.78 per cent patients have recovered from the disease while those still infected are 43.21 per cent.
Forty eight doctors resigned in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Sunday citing inability of the government to provide safety gear to protect them from the virus.
“The doctors in question have resigned after the government’s failure to comply with their repeated requests to provide them protective gear against the deadly coronavirus and other inadequate facilities,” a senior doctor of a public hospital Lahore told news agencies.
Most of these doctors were working in teaching hospitals.