A total of 575,941 cases recorded since the onset of the pandemic
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD/
KARACHI/
LAHORE:
Far from the finish line, Pakistan’s fight against the novel coronavirus began exactly one year ago today. A household name now, the Covid-19 virus was first detected shortly after 22-year-old Yahya Jaffery arrived from Iran.
At the temperature screening gates at Karachi’s international airport, Jaffery was allowed to pass through despite showing early signs of the disease. Little did he know that he would end up being the first carrier of the Covid-19 virus in Pakistan.
Owing to the symptoms, Jaffery got himself tested for coronavirus in the following days. Now healthy, Jaffery describes the mandatory isolation as the most painful moment in his life. “It should be faced with courage, said the survivor.