Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been moved to the Rawalpindi Military Hospital, local media reported yesterday, citing sources.
A day earlier the foreign minister announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and had gone into isolation.
“This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home. I have now tested positive for Covid-19,” the minister had said in a Twitter post.
The Covid-19 respiratory disease is caused by the coronavirus.
“By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic. I will continue to carry on my duties from home. Please keep me in your prayers,” he added.
Yesterday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian wished Qureshi a quick recovery from the illness.
“Please stay safe. I wish you a quick recovery,” he tweeted.
Qureshi joins a long list of lawmakers who have contracted the virus.
Two weeks ago, Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haq tested positive for the coronavirus, while a week before that Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said she had tested positive.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of the National Assembly (MNA) Jai Prakash, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister of State for Narcotics Shehryar Afridi, and the PTI’s chief whip in the National Assembly Aamir Dogar have also been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Many politicians, including the Awami National Party (ANP)’s Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohamed Mazari, had tested positive for the coronavirus, after which they went into self-isolation and recovered.
PTI Member of Punjab Assembly Shaheen Raza was the first lawmaker in the country to succumb to Covid-19.
PTI member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mian Jamsheduddin Kakakhel from Nowshera and PML-N MPA Shaukat Manzoor Cheema from Gujranwala also passed away last month.
Qureshi: announced on Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
