Dr Yasmin Rashid tests COVID-19 positive for second time in a month

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid has tested positive for coronavirus, a spokesperson said Wednesday, as the pandemic spreads rapidly across the country.

This is the second time in a month that the health minister has tested positive for coronavirus. She first tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month on January 4.

The spokesperson said the health minister was self-isolating, while Dr Rashid said she was in good health so far.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin also tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

The development comes as Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity ratio remained above 10% for the seventh consecutive day, the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data showed Wednesday morning, with the government mulling over more restrictions for cities with high positivity rates.

The country recorded a positivity rate of 10.17% as 5,196 new coronavirus cases were recorded after 51,063 tests were conducted across Pakistan in the last 24 hours, NCOC’s figures showed. The overall positivity rate and daily COVID-19 case count, however, has registered a minor decline in the last two days, as per the NCOC stats.

With the detection of new cases, the number of total cases have jumped to 1.386 million, while 15 more patients have succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 29,137, the official stats showed.

Read more: Coronavirus: Sindh notifies new restrictions for schools under NCOC guidelines