‘No Pakistani affected by coronavirus’

Chinese consul general in Karachi says the Chinese government is taking care of the students for free

KARACHI: Four Pakistani students infected by the coronavirus in China have recovered and no more of the 500 Pakistani students currently in Wuhan were affected by the disease, Chinese Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian said on Thursday.

“No Pakistani student is affected by the coronavirus in China,” Li said at the Karachi Press Club, adding that the Chinese government was protecting and taking care of these students for free.

Coronavirus first emerged in the central Hubei province and its capital Wuhan in December last year. Till Thursday, the official death toll topped 2,100 with tens of thousands infected.

The government of Pakistan had decided to keep these students there, Li said, adding that the decision not to bring Pakistani students back was “a difficult one but very good [and] I assure you that your students are being well taken care of”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2020.