| PM, first lady are now self-isolating 
| Dr Faisal says Prime Minister is in 
good health, good spirits

ISLAMABAD   -  Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Health Services Faisal Sultan confirmed this in a twitter post two days after PM Imran Khan received vaccine dose. On Thursday, the prime minister had got his COVID jab and appealed to the people to continue exercising precaution in view of the third wave of the pandemic.

He also said the Prime Minister has self-isolated himself at home. “PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating at home,” Faisal Sultan announced on Twitter.

Dr Faisal Sultan also said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had contracted coronavirus with mild symptoms of the disease and he was in good health and good spirits. In a video statement, he said the prime minister isolated himself and was taking rest at home. 

“We are monitoring parameters of his health and at present he did not need a direct intervention.”On March 18, the prime minister got a shot of coronavirus vaccine, he said adding, as the PM turned positive two days after taking the vaccine, it generated a lot of discussion on the social media.

Dr Faisal said, “We need to understand how the vaccines work and how much time they take to show efficacy.” The vaccines did not show efficacy immediately and start developing the immunity in two to three weeks, he noted. 

The Special Assistant said it was possible that the COVID-19 virus was present in the body of the prime minister days before he took the vaccine shot. He said they were in contact with those people who came in contact with PM Imran Khan.

“We will trace the people who came in contact and will ask them to isolate themselves at home. “I myself will also isolate at home for few days.” He said the new wave of coronavirus had hit the country and the average rate of contraction was more than 9 percent and in some cities it was at 10 percent.

He advised people to continue following the coronavirus guidelines, keep distance from each other, wash hands and wear masks. Those persons who were more than 60 years of age should get themselves registered and vaccinated against coronavirus, he stressed.

“The Prime Minister has been advised to rest as he has mild symptoms of COVID-19”, he added. He also clarified that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not fully vaccinated when he contracted the virus. He said he only got the 1st dose and merely 2 days ago which is too soon for any vaccine to be effective. He said that anti-bodies take two to three weeks after 2nd dose of 2-dose COVID vaccines.

He appealed to the people to strictly comply with COVID related SOPs as the overall positivity ratio is over 9.5 percent across the country. However, hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan contracted novel coronavirus, First Lady Bushra Bibi was also tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.

The news of PM’s wife tested Covid-19 positive came from Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari. “Wishing our First Lady and PM Imran Khan a speedy recovery. May Allah give them both shifa (health),” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Zulfi Bukhari said that vaccines are safe and must be taken. “PM Imran had his first shot just a day ago, before which he was exposed already,” Bukhari stated, urging the masses to get vaccinated and don’t pay heed to fake news.

On Thursday, the prime minister Imran Khan, 68, had received the first dose of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and had appealed to the people to continue exercising precaution in view of the third wave of the pandemic.

‘Efficacy of vaccination’

Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar said the prime minister experienced some symptoms on the day of getting the vaccine.

“Some people questioning the efficacy of vaccination since he was vaccinated Thursday evening. The symptoms take a few days before manifesting. Hence it is certain that PM had been infected PRIOR to vaccination. So please do vaccinate,” he said on Twitter.

Looking at the alarming spike, Pakistan Minister Asad Umar had warned that the Imran Khan government might re-impose restrictions in the country to break the chain of the infection. “The new strain (first found in Britain) spreads faster and is more deadly,” he had said on Twitter earlier.

In a related development, the Ministry of National Health and Services said that the prime minister was not fully vaccinated when he contracted the virus.

“He only got the 1st dose and merely 2 days ago which is too soon for any vaccine to become effective. Anti-bodies develop 2-3 weeks after the 2nd dose of the 2-dose COVID vaccine,” the ministry spokesman in a tweet said.

As the news of the Prime Minister testing positive for COVID-19 broke, the social media pages flooded with posts conveying good wishes for the prime minister.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, “Wishing my Prime Minister (Imran Khan) a quick recovery and good health.”

Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz also prayed for recovery of the prime minister and said in wake of third wave, the government was taking effective measures to overcome the pathogen.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed prayed for health of the prime minister and hoped that he would recuperate very soon.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said the prayers of the people of Pakistan went to the prime minister for his good health.

While praying for quick recovery of the prime minister, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said the “recent spike in COVID-19 cases and positivity rate is alarming and we all need to be extra careful and strictly follow safety protocols.”

Besides the cabinet members, the politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, his followers, celebrities and netizens expressed their good wishes for the prime minister as #ImranKhan started to trend on Twitter.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, federal ministers Pir Nurul Haq Qadri, Hammad Azhar and Ali Haider Zaidi, governors of Punjab and KP, Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong, Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed Ameen, Cricket start Shaihd Afridi and renowned actor Humanyun Saeed are among many who conveyed their good wishes for the prime minister.

In its third wave, Pakistan was witnessing sharp surge in COVID cases as during last 24 hours 3,876 new cases have been reported from across the country against 40,946 tests taking the positivity ration to an alarming 9.47 percent. 42 deaths have been reported while another 58 patients are in critical condition.

Besides the cabinet members, the politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, diplomats, his followers, celebrities, and netizens expressed their good wishes for the prime minister as #ImranKhan started to trend on Twitter.

Chairman Pakistan Peoples’ Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also wished the Prime Minister a “speedy recovery.” PML- N leader Ahsan Iqbal also wished the Prime Minister recovery.

Since getting his COVID jab, the prime minister spent busy days during which he visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and chaired important meetings. He had inaugurated a housing project in Islamabad on the same day he got vaccinated. His aide on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari was among the government officials attending the event. After that, PM Khan also met the Kuwait foreign minister.

On Friday, PM Khan visited the Swat Motorway where Federal Communications Minister Murad Saeed and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan were also present.