The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Regulations and Coordination on Wednesday alerted the Disease Surveillance Division and Central Health Establishment against the possible spread of coronavirus in Pakistan.
China where the virus originated from — has confirmed 473 cases of coronavirus. 9 people have died due to it as of now.
The virus, originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei at the end of last year and has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea and Japan.
According to the NHS, the notification has been issued in response to the international alert on the virus, which has spread from seafood and animals to humans.
According to NHS, symptoms of the deadly virus range from fever, to coughing and difficulty breathing.
NHS has decided to establish coronavirus prevention counters on all airports. It has also been advised that people who recently visited China should also be tested for presence of the virus.
A vaccine for protection against the virus is yet to be developed.
Also read: Deep Dive: China’s deadly coronavirus
Is coronavirus going to spread in Pakistan?
Seeing as how Pakistan has a number of people coming from China, the risk is there. However, there have been no cases of the virus spotted in Pakistan yet. If appropriate measures are taken, hopefully Pakistan won’t fall victim to coronavirus.