9 new Coronavirus cases emerge in Karachi as Pakistan’s tally climbs to 16

KARACHI: Nine more people have been tested positive for coronavirus in Karachi on Monday, rising the total number of affectees to 13 in Sindh and 16 in Pakistan. All the new cases were contacts of an already confirmed case and they had returned from abroad.

The Sindh Health Department said that five of them had come from Syria through Doha, while the rest of the people arrived from London a week ago. “The health department is in the process of tracking down all the contacts for further testing,” an official said in a statement.

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Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed the shocking development through his Twitter account.

“I can confirm 9 new cases of COVID-19 in Karachi. All these cases are contacts of an already confirmed case. Further contacts are being traced and tested. This makes a total of 16 cases in Pakistan,” he tweeted.

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On March 8, the number of coronavirus patients had climbed to seven in Pakistan after a patient from Karachi was tested coronavirus positive. All those who came in contact with him were quarantined.

Dr Zafar Mirza had confirmed it was the 7th case in Pakistan, though first had already been recovered and discharged and another one was ready to be discharged. “If we all act responsibly we can avoid coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan,” he had tweeted.