Pakistan PM Imran Khan tests positive for coronavirus
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for the coronavirus, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination said on Saturday. Khan is self isolating at home, Faisal Sultan announced in a tweet this afternoon. The news came two days after Khan received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Here are more details on this.
Khan was vaccinated on Thursday
On March 18, Khan had taken the first shot of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine Sinopharm. Sinopharm, the only vaccine currently available in Pakistan, requires two doses. He was vaccinated as part of Pakistan's nationwide anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive, which is currently in its first phase. "Prime Minister Imran Khan was vaccinated today," his office had tweeted on Thursday.
Pakistan reports over 6 lakh COVID-19 infections
Like many countries around the world, Pakistan is also witnessing a sharp rise in the daily COVID-19 cases. So far, the South Asian country has logged more than 6,20,000 COVID-19 infections and over 13,000 deaths due to it, according to Worldometers. Across the globe, COVID-19 has infected over 12.3 crore and claimed the lives of over 27.15 lakh.
Most new cases in Pakistan coming from Punjab province
Most of the new cases in Pakistan are coming from its largest province, Punjab. Pakistan Minister Asad Umar has said that hospital beds are filling fast, warning of stricter curbs if rules are not followed, according to Reuters. "The new strain (first found in Britain) spreads faster and is more deadly," Umar said on Twitter.
Pakistan will soon receive India-made vaccines
On a related note, Pakistan will soon receive India-made coronavirus vaccines under the United Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization or GAVI, a public-private global partnership to increase access to immunization in poor countries across the globe. "Pakistan is one of the 92 lower-income economies eligible for support under the GAVI COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC)," a GAVI spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, India reports over 1 crore cases
In neighboring India too, there has been a worrying surge in COVID-19 infections in the past few weeks. The country has already logged more than 1.15 crore cases of coronavirus and over 1.59 lakh fatalities due to it.
