Swat News: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Swat Pakistan Latest News Update: The district government and health department in swat valley have confirmed that the deadly and dangerous coronavirus (COVID-19) has unfortunately reached swat. The local authorities in swat showed their concerns and said that the current situation, number, and figures of the fatal coronavirus affected people and corona patients in swat valley may increase before the virus is completely varnished from swat.
The authorities in swat strongly urged the people of Swat to keep social distancing and to encourage hygiene best practices such as washing hands with soap and water as often as possible. While providing guidance to the general public, they also added that currently, this is the best, cheapest, and effective means as a countermeasure against the spread of the Coronavirus in swat.
Swat Lockdown Due to Coronavirus – Swat News
Due to the coronavirus outbreak in Swat, the officials announced the lockdown of the valley for totemism, business, and other public activities. During the swat lockdown, all markets except grocery stores and vegetable shops are to be kept open. Alongside emergency services, other medical visits are also be given permission to operate during the swat lockdown. (Swat News)
The Province-wise Breakdown of Coronavirus in Pakistan
The province-wise breakdown up of the total number of cases as of 1:50 pm, April 14, is as follows:
Total confirmed cases: 5,782
• Sindh: 1,518
• Punjab: 2,826
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 800
• Balochistan: 231
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 131
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 233
• AJK: 43
Total Deaths in Pakistan Due to Coronavirus
As of April 14 2020 1:50 pm, the following are total and province-wise numbers of deaths in Pakistan due to coronavirus.
Total Deaths in Pakistan: 100
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 35
• Sindh: 35
• Balochistan: 2
• Gilgit-Baltistan: 3
• Punjab: 24
• Islamabad Capital Territory: 1
What is Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
Coronavirus is Transmitted?
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
What are Common Signs of Coronavirus?
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
Recommendations to Prevent Infection Spread due to Coronavirus?
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
World experts and funders set priorities for COVID-19
Leading health experts from around the world have been meeting at the World Health Organization’s Geneva headquarters to assess the current level of knowledge about the new COVID-19 disease, identify gaps and work together to accelerate and fund priority research needed to help stop this outbreak and prepare for any future outbreaks.
The 2-day forum was convened in line with the WHO R&D Blueprint – a strategy for developing drugs and vaccines before epidemics, and accelerating research and development while they are occurring.
“This outbreak is a test of solidarity — political, financial and scientific. We need to come together to fight a common enemy that does not respect borders, ensure that we have the resources necessary to bring this outbreak to an end and bring our best science to the forefront to find shared answers to shared problems. Research is an integral part of the outbreak response,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “I appreciate the positive response of the research community to join us at short notice and come up with concrete plans and commitment to work together.”
The meeting, hosted in collaboration with GloPID-R (the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness) brought together major research funders and over 300 scientists and researchers from a large variety of disciplines. They discussed all aspects of the outbreak and ways to control it including:
the natural history of the virus, its transmission, and diagnosis;
animal and environmental research on the origin of the virus, including management measures at the human-animal interface;
epidemiological studies;
clinical characterization and management of disease caused by the virus;
infection prevention and control, including the best ways to protect health care workers;
research and development for candidate therapeutics and vaccines;
ethical considerations for research;
and integration of social sciences into the outbreak response.
“This meeting allowed us to identify urgent priorities for research. As a group of funders we will continue to mobilize, coordinate and align our funding to enable the research needed to tackle this crisis and stop the outbreak, in partnership with WHO,” said Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanah, chair of GloPID-R. “Equitable access – making sure we share data and reach those most in need, in particular those in lower and middle-income countries, is fundamental to this work which must be guided by ethical considerations at all times.”
During the meeting, the more than 300 scientists and researchers participating both in person and virtually agreed on a set of global research priorities. They also outlined mechanisms for continuing scientific interactions and collaborations beyond the meeting which will be coordinated and facilitated by WHO. They worked with research funders to determine how necessary resources can be mobilized so that critical research can start immediately.
The deliberations will form the basis of a research and innovation roadmap charting all the research needed and this will be used by researchers and funders to accelerate the research response.
