Pakistan PM Imran Khan tests positive for COVID-19, two days after vaccination

Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday tested positive for the COVID-19 and is self-isolating at home, his top aide on health Dr Faisal Sultan said, two days after he got the first shot of vaccination. Khan, 67, was vaccinated on Thursday as part of the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination campaign which is underway in its first phase. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Sultan took to Twitter to confirm that Khan has contracted the coronavirus. PM Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating at home, he said in a tweet. Khan’s spokesman Dr Shehbaz Gill said that the prime minister has just a slight fever and cough. Supporters and ministers of Khan started sending messages of goodwill soon after the news of his diagnosis was shared with #ImranKhan becoming the top trend on Twitter. Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry said that the people of Pakistan are praying for their leader. “May God return him to good health soon.” Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi said that the premier will recover soon and be back to work “in a flash”. Khan had been active until Friday when he visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and inaugurated a highway and an academic block of a university. He urged the citizens to ensure the full implementation of norms to prevent the surge in cases of coronavirus. Pakistan officials last week said that the country was hit by the third wave of the pandemic. According to the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker, Pakistan has so far reported 623,135 cases and 13,799 deaths.