Saeed Ghani tests positive for COVID-19

Education minister alerts those he has been in contact with, urges public to self-isolate

KARACHI: As the number of novel coronavirus cases in Sindh rises, Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani joined their ranks on Monday.

Ghani became the first prominent political leader in the country to test positive for the virus.

He announced the news on his official Twitter handle in a video statement. “I underwent the test for the novel coronavirus yesterday [Sunday] and surprisingly I tested positive for it,” he said.
He maintained that he did not exhibit any symptoms of the contagion, adding that he did not have the flu, fever or a cough and felt completely healthy.

As a precaution, though, he had gone into self-isolation and was carrying out his duties from home, said the minister.
He also asked those who had been in contact with him over the past few days to keep an eye on themselves and undergo testing if they experienced any symptoms of the virus. “If possible, quarantine yourself,” he urged them.

The provincial minister further appealed to people to strictly follow the lockdown directives and pressed them to ensure that their family members did the same.

گذشتہ روز میں نے کورونا وائرس کا ٹیسٹ کروایا جسکی رپورٹ مثبت آئی ہے تاحال جو Symptoms اس وائرس کے بتائے جاتے ہیں ان میں سے مجھے کچھ محسوس نہیں ہورہا اور میں خود کو بالکل صحتمند محسوس کررہا ہوں اور اپنی ذمہ داریاں گھر پر isolation میں رہ کر ادا کررہا ہوں۔ شہری بھی گھروں پر رہیں pic.twitter.com/2vzS7qt0SY

— Senator Saeed Ghani (@SaeedGhani1) March 23, 2020

Meanwhile, sources told The Express Tribune that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, his adviser Murtaza Wahab and Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah also underwent testing with Ghani, and tested negative for coronavirus.

Furthermore, following the incident, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail announced via Twitter that he had isolated himself and was awaiting his own test results, as he had been in close proximity with Ghani at a recent coronavirus taskforce meeting.

Members of the Sindh government, such as the CM, and Pakistan Peoples Party leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari sent Ghani their well wishes.

In a tweet, Bilawal said that Ghani had been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. He also asked the public to pray for all public servants putting themselves at risk to keep the people safe, while imploring everyone to stay home.