Pakistan records first two coronavirus deaths in KP

Pakistan has reported its first two deaths from the coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

KP Health Minister Taimur Jhagra confirmed the first death from Mardan at 9:36pm and the second death from Peshawar at 10:54pm on Twitter.

Sad to report one patient who passed away in Mardan.

— Taimur Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) March 18, 2020

KP had 19 confirmed COVID2019 cases, one of whom has now passed away.

The 50-year-old male from Mardan had arrived in Pakistan after Umrah on March 9. He reported in DHQ Hospital Mardan on March 16 with complaints of cough, fever and difficulty in breathing. A nasopharyngeal swab sample was sent to NIH and confirmed he had coronavirus on March 18.

Jhagra said the second patient in LRH Peshawar was a 36-year-old from Hangu.

He said it had been a long day and a sad night. “We have lost two human lives to a challenge the likes of which I have not seen in my life. And yet we must overcome,” Jhagra tweeted, requesting every influencer and media person to prevail upon the public to do the right thing.

Earlier today, Gilgit-Baltistan denied reports of Pakistan’s first coronavirus death minutes after the province’s spokesperson confirmed that a man had tested positive for and died of the virus.

GB spokesperson Faizullah Faraq issued three conflicting statements on the death of the Bunar resident.

He first confirmed to SAMAA Digital that the man died of the virus. Minutes later, he issued a statement saying that the man had pneumonia and the virus. His statement read that the cause of death is not yet known.

Simultaneously, GB Health Secretary Rashid Ahmed said the patient was first bought to DHQ Gilgit where he tested positive for the virus. He was then shifted to Combined Military Hospital Gilgit where he passed away.

NEOC Coordinator Dr Rana Safdar said the patient was 90 years old and bed-ridden for the last five years due to chronic pulmonary disease and blindness. He had no travel history.

Faraq then issued his third statement saying that the patient has tested negative for the virus. A copy of the test results finalised at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Rawalpindi is with SAMAA Digital. It says that an 80-year-old man has tested negative for COVID19. The entry date on the report is of March 18, 12:37pm.

Gilgit-Baltistan reported 10 more cases of COVID-19, the spokesperson had confirmed. This takes the region’s tally to 13.

Many news outlets had reported a death in Punjab’s Lahore on Tuesday but the news was later dismissed by the Punjab chief minister.

As of 11:29pm, Wednesday, March 18, the number of known coronovirus cases in Pakistan were 301, of which two people have recovered and two have died.

For live updates on the coronavirus in Pakistan follow this story.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/living/health/2020/03/pakistan-records-first-coronavirus-death-in-kp/