Prime Minister Imran Khan underwent a test for COVID-19 and has come out negative. The Prime Minister had met compatriot, philanthropist Faisal Edhi who had earlier tested positive for the novel coronavirus last week.
Khan's personal physician had advised him to undergo a test for COVID-19 infection, soon after news of Edhi's positive status broke out on Tuesday, April 21 to ward off any doubts that the premier may have contracted the virus from his meeting with Edhi.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan tests NEGATIVE for Coronavirus
On Wednesday, April 22, a team of doctors from the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital collected samples from the Prime Minister for the test. Imran Khan was tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus strain that causes the COVID-19 disease on Wednesday, April 22 at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Islamabad. The test was a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
The Prime Minister's personal physician Dr. Faisal Sultan who is also the CEO of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and the PTI's (Khan's Party) spokesperson Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan confirmed the news in Twitter. "I am happy to report that his test is NEGATIVE," Dr Awan tweet on Wednesday, April 22.
Khan's family tested negative too
Awan had earlier said that the family of the Prime Minister including his wife Bibi Bushra Maneka had already tested negative. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister may go under self-quarantine according to Dr Faisal Sultan.
Khan's meeting with Faisal Edhi
The 67-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician, agreed to get tested after he met Faisal Edhi, the son of noted philanthropist late Abdul Sattar Edhi and chairman of the Edhi Foundation on April 15 at his residence in Islamabad where Edhi presented him with a cheque for Rs 10 for the Prime Minister's coronavirus relief fund.
.A few days after the meeting, Edhi started showing symptoms of coronavirus and was declared COVID-19 positive on Tuesday, April 21, at which time the Prime Minister was chairing a cabinet meeting.
The suspicion of a possible transmission from Faisal Edhi came to light after it was revealed in picture of the meeting that both PM Khan and Edhi were not wearing any form of precautionary protection including masks and gloves, which made the chances of transmission of the virus from Edhi to Khan even stronger.
Coronavirus in Pakistan
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan continues to surge and the number of confirmed infections crossed 10,000. Pakistan has reported 10,513 infections and the death toll is at 224 as of April 23.
