ISLAMABAD – Health officials in Pakistan detected Wednesday the first two cases of coronavirus in the country, linking them with the outbreak in neighboring Iran.
One patient, Yahya Jaffri, 22, had recently flown back with his family from Iran to Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.
A provincial government spokesman, Murtaza Wahab, said the patient’s family also was placed in isolation to determine whether any other members had been infected with the virus, known as COVID-19.
He said health officials were collecting data about passengers who had traveled with Jaffri and members of his extended family in order to try to prevent the spread of the virus.
“I can confirm first two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols and both of them are stable. No need to panic, things are under control,” tweeted Zafar Mirza, the Pakistani federal health minister.
Details about the second patient were not available immediately.
On Monday, Pakistan announced it was temporarily closing its border with Iran, where coronavirus was first detected a week ago and 19 people have died out of 139 patients.
Thousands of Pakistanis have been stranded in Iran since Pakistan closed the border with the western neighbor. (Story by VoA)
