Pakistani foreign minister tests positive for Covid-19
Shah Mehmood Qureshi gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters on June 25, 2020.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ONJuly 04, 2020 2:10 AM
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday (July 3) he had tested positive for Covid-19, days after holding high profile meetings including one with US special representative on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Islamabad.
"This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home," Qureshi said on Twitter.
He said he felt healthy and would carry on his duties from home.
In the last few days, Qureshi has had contact with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament and in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Qureshi also met Khalilzad on Wednesday when the US special representative travelled to Pakistan to discuss progress on the Afghan peace process.
Pictures released from those meetings showed Qureshi and others wearing face masks.
The US State Department did not comment.
Pakistan has reported 221,896 cases of the coronavirus and 4,451 deaths.
The country has continued to see around 4,000 new cases on a daily basis, despite daily testing numbers falling.
A number of high officials have tested positive for Covid-19 in Pakistan, including Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Asad Qaiser.
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