Maryam Nawaz tests positive for Covid-19

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, July 16 (SABAH): Vice President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday that she has tested positive for Covid-19 after back-to-back election rallies ahead of the Punjab by-elections to be held today (Sunday). “Covid positive,” she shared in a short tweet.

Meanwhile in a statement issued on Saturday Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that sad to hear that Maryam Baiti and Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar have been diagnosed with Covid. “My profound prayers and best wishes are with them for an early recovery. The way she led the PML-N political campaign has made all of us proud. Get well soon, Gurriya & Safdar” PM Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.

Maryam Nawaz has addressed several rallies in recent days as part of the party’s campaign for the upcoming by-polls in Punjab. This is not the first time she has contracted the coronavirus. She previously tested positive in July last year. 

Since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan in February 2020, several top politicians and government officials have tested positive, including President Dr. Arif Alvi, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. They have since recovered.

Health experts have cautioned of a sixth coronavirus wave and stressed that there is a dire need for people to resume wearing face masks and maintain social distancing at public places to prevent the fast transmission of the new variants.

During the last 24 hours, the country reported 737 new cases and 10 fatalities. The positivity rate was recorded at 3.3 per cent.