ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar went into isolation on Monday after contracting coronavirus.
“I have tested positive for Covid-19 and self-isolating at home. Requesting everyone for prayers,” Azhar said in a tweet.
I have tested positive for Covid-19 and self isolating at home. Requesting everyone for prayers. JazakAllah Khair.
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) February 1, 2021
A number of high-profile politicians, including ministers, have tested positive for the contagious disease since it was first detected in the country in February last.
Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are among the politicians contracted the disease so far.
The nation on Monday recorded 1,615 new infections of the coronavirus after conducting 34,785 tests, receiving a transmission rate of 4.64 percent.
Reports suggest Pakistan is yet to fully utilise its testing capacity of 57,531, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts.
World Health Organisation (WHO) claims the country’s testing policies only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies suggest comprise the majority of infections nationwide.
