Nine new cases of coronavirus emerged in Karachi on Monday, a spokesperson for the Sindh Health Department confirmed.
Five of the patients arrived to the port city from Syria via Doha whereas the other persons came from London via Dubai during the past week.
The health department is in the process of tracking down all their contacts for further testing, according to Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister.
The latest figures bring the total number of cases in Sindh to 13 out of whom one has made a full recovery.
In Pakistan, so far 16 people have been tested positive for COVID-19. Thirteen of them belong to Sindh while one has already fully recovered and discharged from the hospital in Karachi.
As many as 96 passengers were offloaded from the Doha-bound flights on Monday at Karachi and Islamabad airports as a precautionary measure against the rapidly spreading coronavirus disease.
As per details, 48 passengers were barred from flying to Doha, Qatar, from the Karachi International airport, while 48 others were offloaded from a Doha-bound flight from Islamabad airport. The offloaded passengers were traveling to Doha on visit visas.
It may be noted that the Qatari government has announced temporary ban on travellers from Pakistan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand.
Pakistan has extended closure of its border with Afghanistan at Chaman for another week. The border was closed on March 2 for a week amid apprehensions of outbreak of coronavirus.
The number of cases of novel coronavirus worldwide has crossed 110,000 people in 100 countries and territories with more than 3,800 dead, according to an AFP tally on Monday. The landmark figure came after Iran reported almost 600 new cases on Monday morning, taking its total number of infections past 7,000.
China, where the virus first emerged late last year, remains the most affected country with more than 80,000 cases, but experts have expressed hope that the Chinese outbreak has peaked.
Governments are scrambling to respond to the outbreak with countries across Europe cancelling public gatherings, restricting attendances at sporting events and closing schools – following similar measures in China and other Asian nations.
Italy is battling the deadliest outbreak outside of China with 366 people having died from 7,375 cases, much more deadly than in South Korea, which has seen a similar number of infections but just 51 deaths.
The Rome government is attempting to seal off roughly 15 million people in its hard-hit northern regions, forbidding travel around a vast area including the cities of Venice and Milan.
Iran has let go approximately 70,000 prisoners amid a concerning coronavirus outbreak, its judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, said on Monday, as the country reported 43 new deaths over the past 24 hours, bumping up the death toll to 237.
According to the judiciary’s news site Mizan, Raisi said, “The release of the prisoners, to the point where it doesn’t create insecurity in society … will continue.” However, he did not specify if or when those released would need to return to jail.
Saudi Arabia will impose a fine of up to 500,000 riyals on people who do not disclose health information and travel details at entry points, it said on Monday, as the Gulf state works to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The kingdom on Sunday imposed a temporary lockdown on its eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, where the majority of the 15 individuals diagnosed with the disease live. Some have failed to disclose traveling to Iran to the authorities upon returning to Saudi Arabia via other Gulf Arab states.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia on Monday asked imams to deliver Friday prayer sermons in less than 15 minutes. The Religious Affairs Ministry banned food and beverages at mosques in addition to spiritual retreats.
Saudi Arabia also suspended travel with 14 countries including neighboring Arab states, France, Germany, Turkey and Spain and said legal action will be taken against any citizen going to Iran, which reported 237 deaths from the virus on Monday.
UN economists warned Monday that the raging outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus could cost the global economy between $1 trillion and $2 trillion this year and called on governments to ramp up spending to mitigate its impact, AFP reported. A report from the UN Conference on Trade, Investment and Development (UNCTAD) concluded that the COVID-19 epidemic will push some countries into recession and will significantly slow growth in the world economy as a whole.
