Four Pakistani students in China tested positive for coronavirus, said Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza in a press conference on Wednesday.
Dr Mirza said that a large proportion of the Pakistanis living in China are students of which over 500 students are based in the central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new virus.
“We will take care of them the same way we would care for our own children,” he said, assuring the families affected of the government’s support. Dr Mirza also stated that not one case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in Pakistan.
United Arab Emirates also confirmed their first case of Coronavirus on Wednesday.
Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, has been under a virtual lockdown for days, with residents forbidden from leaving the city, and in some cases, even their homes, as the death toll soars to 80.
According to reports, over a 1000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various Universities across Wuhan and the rest of China. These students took to social media platforms and released a video, appealing to the Pakistani government to evacuate them from the epicentre of the virus, immediately.
Pakistani students stranded in Wuhan University pic.twitter.com/FHWTyNGErN
— Irum Azeem Farooque (@Irumf) January 27, 2020
Following the release of the video, China’s ambassador reassured that all Pakistani citizens, including students, in the quarantined metropolis of Hubei province “are safe and in good health”.
ووہان میں مقیم 500 سے زائد پاکستانی طلبہ اوردیگر شہری مکمل طور پر محفوظ اور صحت مند ہیں: چینی سفیر یاؤ چنگ pic.twitter.com/4e51P8rUh0
— Chinese Emb Pakistan (@CathayPak) January 27, 2020
In a quarantine of unprecedented scale, as many as 54 million people are trapped in Wuhan. The virus is suspected to have originated at a wet market in Wuhan where wild animals are sold, some illegally.
In case your loved ones are stuck in China, here is the email address of the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing: info@pakbj.org.
- Pakistani Assistant (Community Welfare Affairs): +86 10 6532 6660 -6121 (extension), +86 10 6532 6660 -6146 (extension)
- Third Secretary: +86 18 5013 22992, +86 15 6528 89195
- Telephone Numbers Exchange: +86 10 6532 2504, +86 10 6532 6660