The Minister for Planning and Development and Chairman of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar tested positive for Covid-19 in the late hours of Friday.
The minister broke the news through a tweet made from his official Twitter handle. In the short statement, he said he will be isolating at home following his Covid-19 test coming out positive.
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“Just got my covid test result and it is positive. Will be isolating at home,” he said.
Just got my covid test result and it is positive. Will be isolating at home.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) December 18, 2020
Prayers started pouring in from various media personalities and the general public.
A prominent talk show host, Shiffa Yousafzai said: “Prayers & best wishes for Asad Umar sahib’s swift recovery – Hope it won’t be long till you’re out again and all recovered.”
While another journalist, Maleeha Hashmey said, “Get well soon! Insha Allah, you’ll beat it sooner than soon!”
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Situation in the country
Covid-19 has claimed the lives of many prominent individuals, including two prominent judges. One was the former accountability judge Arshad Malik, famous for his verdict in the Al Azizia reference against Nawaz Sharif. Other being the Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, famous for heading down a death sentence to former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case for imposing emergency in the country.
Pakistan is currently grappling with the second wave of Covid-19 with infection rates soaring across major cities of the country. Karachi is leading the chart with more than 18 percent positivity rate.
According to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) data, while the national positivity ratio was 7.2 per cent, it was 18.76pc in Karachi, followed by 16.56pc in Hyderabad and 15.99pc in Peshawar.
On Wednesday, Pakistan saw the second highest death toll in a day with the contagion claiming 105 lives. The most deaths, 124, were reported in June when the first wave had reached its peak.
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Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said on Wednesday Pakistan was passing through the same situation it had faced in June.
“The virus has even reached those areas which remained unaffected during the first wave of the pandemic. Burden on the hospitals is increasing rapidly due to which we have increased their capacity. I request the masses to strictly adhere to the SOPs,” said Dr Sultan while chairing an online event about Reinforcing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) during the second wave of Covid-19 on Wednesday.