The First coronavirus patient in Pakistan has been discharged from a hospital in Karachi after being tested negative of the disease that formally known as the COVID-19 on Saturday, an official with health department said.
The 22-year-old was tested three times after recovering and was discharged on consistent negative lab report of the virus in his body, but health officials will keep on monitoring him for a few more days, Syed Zafar Mehdi, the focal person on coronavirus in Sindh department of health told Xinhua.
"The patient's whole family and close contacts were quarantined after he was reported positive of the test, and his mother was also sent under intensive observation in isolation ward once, after showing symptoms of the disease, but her tests were negative as she was suffering from normal flu," Mehdi added.
The patient came from Iran on Feb. 20, and diagnosed with the disease at a private hospital in Karachi on Feb. 26.
Mehdi said that health teams in the province are working efficiently to screen people coming from COVID-19 infected countries and regions at airports and every possible measure is being taken to stop the spread of the disease after three patients including the recovered were tested positive of the disease in the province.
With the first patient recovering, the number of the disease infected people drops to five in the country with three under treatment in Islamabad, apart from the two in Sindh.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza said in an early press briefing that all the patients are recovering quickly and their clinical condition is stable.
The country has taken serious measures to stop the spread of the disease in the country, including closure of border with Iran, strict screening at airports and closing of schools for about three weeks in Sindh and neighboring Balochistan province.
