Minister of Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad will remain in quarantine for two weeks, his office said
Islamabad:
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and reigning Minister of Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.
Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb confirmed that 61-year-old Shahid Abbasi had been infected with the virus.
Abbasi, who is the senior vice-president of the PML-N, was Prime Minister from August 2017 to May 2018 after his party leader Nawaz Sharif was dismissed by a court decision in a corruption case .
He isolated himself from his home after receiving the COVID-19 test report on Monday, party officials said.
Minister of Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has also tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from his office.
“Sheikh Rashid has tested positive for COVID-19,” the statement said, adding that he has entered solitary confinement and will remain in quarantine for two weeks on the advice of doctors.
On Sunday, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and former provincial minister, Sharjeel Memon, tested positive for coronavirus.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf provincial lawmaker Chaudhry Ali Akhtar has also tested positive for the virus, his spokesman said.
The spokesperson shared that Mr. Akhtar is in solitary confinement and has been tested after showing symptoms of the virus. Akhtar was elected to Faisalabad III of the Punjab Assembly in the 2018 elections.
At least four legislators, including a provincial minister, have died from a coronavirus in Pakistan.
Five people, including two officers, at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry have tested positive for the coronavirus, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Aisha Farooqui said on Sunday, adding that the cases had appeared at the office last week.
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan crossed the 1,000,000 mark on Sunday and the infection is spreading rapidly across the country.
