Yusuf Gilani, 67, tested positive after attending a hearing in a corruption case. (Archive photo)
Islamabad:
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Yusuf Raza Gilani tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, becoming the last political figure to contract COVID-19, which claimed 2,551 lives and infected 132,405 people in the country .
Gilani, 67, tested positive after attending a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) hearing in a corruption case.
On Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Opposition, tested positive for the coronavirus after appearing before the NAB in a money laundering case.
Gilani’s son Kasim Gilani announced on Twitter that the former prime minister had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Thank you to the government of Imran Khan and the National Accountability Bureau! You managed to endanger my father’s life. His COVID-19 result became positive,” said Kasim.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.
COVID-19 cases in Pakistan reached 132,405 after a record 6,472 new infections were detected, while another 88 succumbed to the coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 2,551, the health ministry announced on Saturday. .
The Ministry of National Health Services said a record number of 29,850 tests have been performed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of COVID-19 tests performed in the country to 839,019.
“So far 50,056 people have recovered across Pakistan, making it a significant number,” said the report.
There are no ventilator patients in Kashmir and Baluchistan occupied by Pakistan. No fewer than 420 ventilators out of a total of 1,400 respirators allocated to COVID-19 are occupied across Pakistan, according to the report.
At least 88 people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 2,551, the ministry said.
There are 820 hospitals with COVID-19 facilities in the country and 8,559 patients are admitted across the country, while others are recovering independently at home, he added.
The government closed nearly 1,300 hot spots on Saturday, including several areas in the capital Islamabad, due to the rapid spread of the deadly virus.
He stated that the federal and provincial authorities ensure compliance with the health directives and instructions for the workplace and follow the monitoring, testing and quarantine strategy.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan medical watchdog has approved the first locally manufactured test kit for the new coronavirus.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the kit was developed by scientists at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), led by the military.
The kit has been approved by the Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority (DRAP) after successfully completing series of trials.
