Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra said Wednesday a patient had died from coronavirus, making it the province’s first virus-related death.
In a tweet, Jhagra said: “Sad to report one patient who passed away in Mardan.”
The statement came after the provincial tally of coronavirus cases hit 19, with Pakistan’s total nearing 300.
Minutes after Jhagra’s tweet, PM’s aide Dr Zafar Mirza also confirmed the death in KP.
Earlier today, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan retracted its statement regarding a patient dying in the region from the coronavirus, saying the provincial spokesperson had not confirmed the news before breaking it.
Multiple news channels had reported about Pakistan’s first coronavirus patient dying after GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq confirmed that a 90-year-old man passed away from the infection.
Faraq had said it seemed to be a case of secondary transmission of the virus as the patient did not have any travel history. However, the GB government’s media coordinator, Rasheed Arshad, explained that the provincial spokesperson broke the news without verifying it.
He said the patient was suffering from pneumonia and kidney complications.
