Former Pak PM Yusuf Raza Gilani Tests Positive For COVID-19

Pakistan's former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, becoming the latest top political figure to contract COVID-19 that has claimed 2,551 lives and infected 132,405 people in the country.

Gilani, 67, tested positive after attending a hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a corruption case.

On Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, chief of the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), tested positive for the coronavirus after he appeared before the NAB in a money laundering case.

Gilani's son Kasim Gilani announced on Twitter that the former premier had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Thank you Imran Khan's govt and National Accountability Bureau! You have successfully put my father''s life in danger. His COVID-19 result came positive," Kasim said.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.

Pakistan's COVID-19 cases reached 132,405 after a record 6,472 new infections were detected, while 88 more people have succumbed to the coronavirus, pushing the number of deaths to 2,551, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The Ministry of National Health Services said a record 29,850 tests were done in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the country to 839,019.

"So far, 50,056 people have recovered across Pakistan, making it a significant count," it said.

There are no patients on ventilators in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Balochistan. As many as 420 ventilators out of a total 1,400 breathing devices allocated for COVID-19 are occupied across Pakistan, it said.

At least 88 people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths 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 recuperating in self-isolation at homes, it added.

The government closed down nearly 1,300 hot spots, including several areas in capital Islamabad, on Saturday due to fast spreading of the deadly virus.

It said that the federal and provincial authorities were ensuring compliance with health guidelines and instructions for the working places and following track, test and quarantine strategy.

Meanwhile, Pakistan medical goods watchdog has approved the first indigenously made testing kit for the novel coronavirus.

Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that the kit was developed by the scientists at the army-run National University of Science and Technology (NUST).

The kit was approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) after it completed successful rounds of trials.