Pakistani student placed in isolation after returning from virus-hit Wuhan

A student who returned to Karachi from coronavirus-hit Wuhan, Arsalan Amin, has been admitted to a private hospital in the port city as a precautionary measure.

The provincial health department said that Arsalan was admitted to a hospital and will be kept in the isolation ward for 14 days.

A sample of the student’s bodily fluid was also taken and sent to Islamabad for tests related to the deadly disease.

Arsalan – a native of Karachi’s Lyari locality – may be discharged earlier if the laboratory tests are negative.

Governments globally are grappling with the challenge of how to get their citizens out of China’s Hubei province, where 60 million residents now live under virtual lockdown.

Pakistan said quarantine regulations prevented it from flying out the more than 500 Pakistani students and their families from Wuhan.

China has become a major destination for South Asian university students in recent years, fuelled in part by scholarships offered by China.

The country has imposed transport bans in and around Wuhan – effectively trapping tens of millions of people – including thousands of foreigners – in a bid to contain the virus.

The World Health Organisation declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.