Coronavirus outbreak
Pakistan monitoring ‘evolving situation’ in China, says FO
Statesman Report
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government is monitoring the situation in China and is in close contact with the relevant authorities in order ensure safety of Pakistani students in Wuhan amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed 170 people, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
“Islamabad has taken up the issue of food shortages with concerned officials and we are assured by the Chinese government of full cooperation in this regard,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Aaisha Farooqui said at a press briefing.
In response to questions about the evacuation of Pakistani citizens from Wuhan, the epicenter of deadly virus, the spokesperson said, “Islamabad is monitoring the evolving situation and will take a decision after consultations among all the stakeholders.” The World Health Organization, which initially downplayed the severity of a disease that has now killed 170 in China, planned a meeting Thursday on whether to declare the epidemic a global emergency.
Pakistan to quarantine crew on Chinese cargo ships at Karachi port
The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will quarantine the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel, its chairperson, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, told Geo News on Thursday, as preventive measures are ramped up to tackle coronavirus from spreading into the metropolis.
Akhtar said the containers, especially those arriving from China and southeast Asia, would be thoroughly checked, and that special care would be taken to ensure that the staff on these ships remained limited to the port only.