Pakistan PM Imran Khan Tests Negative for Coronavirus

Imran Khan had undergone a test for COVID-19 as he had met philanthropist Faisal Edhi who later tested positive.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, Dawn reported on Wednesday, 22 April, citing his "focal person" on COVID-19, Dr Faisal Sultan, and the special advisor to PM for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was tested today for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]). The test used was a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). I am happy to report that his test is NEGATIVE.

— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) April 22, 2020

Earlier, it was reported that the PM had undergone a test for COVID-19 as he "met philanthropist Faisal Edhi who later tested positive for the deadly virus".

Faisal Edhi, chairman of the non-profit Edhi Foundation, had reportedly come to Islamabad last week to hand over a cheque of Rs 10 million to the prime minister for the coronavirus relief fund.

"Prime Minister Khan will undergo a test to detect coronavirus to show that he is a responsible citizen of this county. We will follow all protocols in place and make recommendations accordingly,” Faisal Sultan, Imran Khan’s physician, had said on Tuesday.

Pakistan on Tuesday had reported 16 more deaths from the coronavirus, taking the country's toll to 192, while the number of confirmed infections spiked to over 9,000, PTI reported.

(With inputs from Dawn and PTI)