ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for the coronavirus and is self-isolating at home with mild symptoms, a close aide of the PM said on Saturday, with another advisor confirming that the first lady also had the disease.
Khan, 68, tested positive for COVID-19 just two days after he received his first injected dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as Pakistan earlier this month launched a coronavirus vaccination drive for the general public, starting with those above the age of 60.
The PM’s advisor on overseas Pakistanis, Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, wished the PM and first lady a speedy recovery on Twitter:
Khan's illness was confirmed earlier in the day by the country's health chief, Dr. Faisal Sultan.
"Prime Minister Imran Khan tests positive for coronavirus, is experiencing 'mild symptoms'. He will self-quarantine at home however will continue to work from home," Faisal Javed Khan, a senator from the PM's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said in a tweet.
Khan, 68, tested positive for COVID-19 just two days after he received his first injected dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as Pakistan earlier this month launched a coronavirus vaccination drive for the general public, starting with those above the age of 60.
To prevent speculation that the PM's illness is related to vaccination, Planning Minister Asad Umar took to Twitter to say that Khan must have contracted the virus prior to receiving his vaccine jab.
"The symptoms take a few days before manifesting. Hence it is certain that PM had been infected PRIOR to vaccination," Umar said in a tweet, as he urged others to not to hesitate to get vaccinated.
The incubation period of COVID-19 — the time between exposure to the virus and symptom onset — is on average five to six days.
It takes at least two weeks after vaccination for the body to acquire immunity against the virus that causes COVID-19.
Pakistan is observing a surge in COVID-19 infections. Its coronavirus positivity rate neared 10% on Saturday, government data showed, as it reported 3,876 new cases in the last 24 hours, a record this year.
At least 623,135 COVID-19 cases and 13,799 related deaths have been recorded in the country of 220 million since the beginning of the outbreak.
