파키스탄 中우한유학생 4명 신종코로나 확진···파키스탄 국내엔 환자 아직 없어

파키스탄의 중국 우한 유학생들이 3일 이슬라마바드공항을 통해 입국히고 있다.<AFP>

[아시아엔=송재걸 기자] 코로나 바이러스에 대한 소식은 파키스탄인들의 우려를 가중시키고 있다. 아이샤 파루키 파키스탄 외교부 대변인은 성명을 통해 “중국과 파키스탄 당국자들이 중국 우한의 신종 코로나 바이러스 발생 상황을 적극 감시하고 있다”고 전했다.

파루키 대변인은 “현재의 상황은 더 큰 인내를 요구한다”고 말했다. 파키스탄 정부는 우한에 있는 유학생들과 교민들에게 주중 파키스탄 대사관의 웹사이트(www.pakbj.org)에 정기적으로 접속할 것을 촉구했다.

자파르 미르자 파키스탄 총리보좌관은 “우한시에 거주하는 모든 파키스탄 학생들은 어느 누구도 코로나 바이러스에 감염된 적이 없다”고 밝혔다. 미르자 총리보좌관은 “그들(우한의 파키스탄 유학생들) 중에서 코로나 바이러스가 발견된 사례는 없으며, 우리 대사관이 그들과 적극적으로 접촉하고 있다”고 말해, 바이러스가 발생한 중국 우한의 500명 이상의 파키스탄 유학생 가족들을 안심시켰다.

6일 현재 파키스탄 국내에서는 어떠한 코로나 바이러스 사례도 확인되지 않았다. 미르자 보좌관은 “바이러스 의심 환자 4명을 감시하고 샘플을 채취한 결과 코로나 바이러스에 감염되지 않았다고 확신할 수 있다”고 발표했다. 파키스탄 내 바이러스를 둘러싼 논쟁에서 가장 큰 이슈는 중국에 발이 묶인 파키스탄 유학생들이다.

미르자 보좌관은 “이번 발병의 근원지인 중국 우한시에서 파키스탄 유학생 4명이 코로나바이러스에 확진되었다”고 말했다. 미르자 보좌관은 “파키스탄은 코로나바이러스의 추가 확산 방지를 위한 중국 거주 자국민 대피는 하지 않기로 결정했다”고 기자들에게 전했다.

그는 우한시에서 파키스탄인들을 대피시키지 않는 것이 “국가와 국민들을 위해 더 큰 이익”이라고 덧붙였다. 그는 “이번 파키스탄인 대피 금지 결정은 세계보건기구(WHO)의 지침이며, 이것은 중국의 정책이기도 하다”며 “이것은 또한 우리 파키스탄의 정책이기도 하다”고 밝혔다..

미르자 보좌관은 4일 트위터를 통해 “카타르항공과 중국남방항공의 여객기 두 편이 지난 3일 몇시간 차이로 파키스탄 수도 이슬라마바드공항에 착륙했다”고 확인했다. 이들 항공기에는 중국 우한 유학생 40명을 포함해 모두 97명의 파키스탄 사람들이 중국에서 탑승·귀국했다.

다음은 영문기사 전문

Effects of Corona Virus on Pakistan

Written by Peter Jaegeul Song, Reporter of The AsiaN & Magazine N

Pakistan’s government has halted all flights to and from China as the World Health Organization last Thursday declared coronavirus a global health emergency. Abdul Sattar Khokhar, additional secretary of aviation, officially confirmed the halting of flights to China.

According to Imran Salid Shahid, a local activist in Islamabad, rumors have swirled that coronavirus had spread to Gwadar, a port town in southwest Pakistan. There were also rumors on social media such including Facebook and Twitter that six Chinese people working at the port had been diagnosed with the illness.

Hundreds of Chinese affiliated with Chinese Overseas Port Holding Company work at the port. Gwadar’s district health officer later denied these rumors and said that no one has tested positive for coronavirus in the city. Local sources told the Nikkei Asian Review that Chinese personnel have not had close contact with citizens of Gwadar, making the risk of transmission of the virus very low.

News of coronavirus has further added to Pakistanis’ concerns as Pakistan has very close relations with China and so many people travel from China and Pakistan from and in both countries. There is currently a great fear that it might also badly affect Pakistan in many ways.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aisha Farooqui, said in a statement that officials of China and Pakistan are actively monitoring the situation of Corona virus outbreak in Wuhan, China. The Embassy in Beijing and other sub-Missions in China are also in touch with the Pakistani community as well as Chinese authorities. People have been reassured of full support and requested to follow health protocols issued by the Chinese authorities and stay indoors.

Farooqui said “The current situation calls for greater patience and perseverance.” The Pakistani Government has urged students and community members in Wuhan to regularly visit the Embassy’s website www.pakbj.org. Those who are not yet registered are also being encouraged to register with the Embassy, online.

Minister of State Zafar Mirza had also confirmed that no Pakistani student in Wuhan City had contracted coronavirus. Mirza reassured families of over 500 Pakistani students in the Chinese city where the virus had originated by saying “No case of coronavirus among them [Pakistanis students] and our Embassy is actively in touch with them.”

In the words of local activists, the fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Pakistan have delayed a few projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, in Lahore and South Punjab. So far Pakistan has not had any officially confirmed case of the deadly virus. There are confirmed cases in more than a dozen countries, including India and Nepal in South Asia.

Economic corridor projects were halted on Thursday in South Punjab, reported The Nation, a Pakistani daily. Seventy-one Chinese engineers, along with local security personnel, are undergoing screening for coronavirus, the report said. Work on Orange Line Metro Train project in Lahore was also suspended. Chinese workers were asked to remain in their compounds for three days, during which they will be screened for coronavirus, reported daily The News.

The Orange Line is the largest mass urban transit project taking place under the auspices of the economic corridor, at a cost of $1.63 billion. Uzair Shah, general manager of the project, told members of the media that work on the project has stopped temporarily. Chinese people working on the Lahore Safe City project were also restricted to their compounds as a precaution.

The Orange Line is the largest mass urban transit project taking place under the auspices of the economic corridor, at a cost of $1.63 billion. Uzair Shah, general manager of the project, told members of the media that work on the project has stopped temporarily. Chinese people working on the Lahore Safe City project were also restricted to their compounds as a precaution.

The Chinese Consulate-General in Lahore has canceled all upcoming meetings due to concerns about spreading coronavirus. Peng Zhengwu, the deputy consul-general, confirmed to local media that the meetings have been canceled, saying the decision is an internal quarantine measure. According to a report by The News, another local daily, the Chinese consul general in Lahore has instructed all Chinese that have come to Pakistan in recent days to stay indoors for the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has sent a message of support to China after the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus exceeded 9,000 and the death toll topped 200. Government of Pakistan is thankful to the Chinese government for extending the best possible assistance to Pakistani nationals in China.

Despite China and Pakistan being neighbors and huge flows of people between the two countries, no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Pakistan as of the first of February. “Four individuals suspected of having the virus were kept under observation and their samples were collected, and we could say with a great degree of certainty that the individuals do not have coronavirus,” said Zafar Mirza, special assistant to prime minister for health.

In the debate surrounding the virus in Pakistan, the biggest issue has been Pakistani students stranded in China. Coronavirus has been confirmed in four Pakistani students in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, said Mirza. However, Pakistan has decided to not evacuate its citizens from China to prevent coronavirus from spreading further, Mirza told reporters. He added it was in the “larger interest of the region” to not evacuate Pakistanis in Wuhan. “This [decision not to evacuate Pakistanis] is what the WHO is saying and this is what China’s policy is,” he said. “This is also our policy.”

The decision has drawn harsh criticism from opposition politicians and civil society. Opposition leadership in Senate, demanded that Pakistanis stranded in China be airlifted immediately home in special planes action to help its citizens in China. But parliamentarians from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party defended the decision not to bring Pakistanis home China saying that China has better access to health facilities and are also trying to come up with a treatment for the virus. [Pakistan] cannot treat this virus.

Zafar Mirza confirmed on Twitter that two flights of Qatar Airways, and China Southern Airlines, landed at Islamabad airport with a difference of a couple of hours on Monday, 3rd February bringing back 97 Pakistanis, including 40 students, to the capital Islamabad following the resumption of flight operations to China, officials said.

For now, there are just fears and rumours but no apparent coronavirus case reported from any part of Pakistan including Gwadar although it is clear that the Chinese projects across the country have slowed down to some extent. On the same date of bringing back Pakistanis from China, a total of 300 Chinese arrived from Beijing in Karachi and they all were cleared. Around 5000 Chinese are currently working in Sindh province. The conclusion is that there is no alarming situation in Pakistan.

According to the Chinese officials, as per Monday 6th February, the death toll rose to 563 in China from the deadly Coronavirus outbreak that originated in the central city of Wuhan. The Philippines became the first country outside China to confirm a death from the infection. China has expanded drastic travel restrictions to contain the viral contagion that has killed and infected so many people.

The United States and France have evacuated their citizens from a quarantined city at the outbreak’s epicenter. The total number of people infected with the virus rose to approximately 27,000 across the country.

Other countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from Hubei province and its capital city, Wuhan, while many have also imposed extraordinary travel restrictions on travelers to and from China. Originating in Hubei’s capital of Wuhan, the virus has spread throughout China and around the world, with cases confirmed in around a dozen countries as distant as France, Australia and the United States.

Leave a Reply