However, he said the situation was under control and people should not be worried about these cases. "Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocol and both of them [patients] are stable. No need to panic, things are under control. I will hold a press conference today on return from Taftan," he said in his message on the social media.
According to the case detected in Karachi, the victim is a 22-year-old man, Yahya Jafri, who recently returned to the city from Iran. He had been admitted to a private hospital on the Stadium Road after he had been taken ill. The coronavirus test on him turned out to be positive, after which the hospital management informed the health department of Sindh and some other relevant institutions for precautionary measures.
Jafri had returned from Iran on February 20.
While talking to Business Recorder, Media Coordinator to the Health and Population Welfare Minister Meeran Yousaf confirmed Yahya Jafri had contracted the virus in Iran. "He returned from Iran by air recently. The victim and his family have been placed in the isolation ward of the private hospital," she added.
She further said that the health department was collecting details about all the other passengers who had travelled with him. Meanwhile, spokesman for the Sindh Government Barrister Murtaza Wahab had said that the provincial government had been taking all best possible measures to prevent people from contracting coronavirus.
He said the federal government should further ensure proper examination facilities at the airports. Murtaza Wahab said that Yahya Jafri had not been screened at the airport on his arrival from Iran. The deadly virus originated in China some three weeks ago and has killed over 2,000 people. The virus also spread to many other countries, including Iran, Italy, Brazil and Spain. Meanwhile, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani announced closure of schools across province from February 27, February 28.