HARIPUR: Two more persons, including a paramedic of the District Headquarters Hospital Haripur, tested positive for coronavirus, increasing the total numbers of patients to 12 in the district, official sources told The News here on Sunday. The sources said that the results of from NIH Islamabad on Sunday confirmed Zamarud Khan, a resident of village Guloo Bandi, and Shehzad, a laboratory technician of District Headquarters Hospital, to be positive cases. The paramedic had already been home quarantined for the last one week when he was diagnosed with the symptoms. According to District Health Officer Dr Saifullah Khalid, Zamarud Khan has the history of having close contact with former tehsil councilor Raja M Ayaz, who also tested positive last week. While the medical technician, deputed on sample collection of corona suspects, has not contracted the viral disease and instead has the history of frequent visits to former PMLN MNA Babar Nawaz Khan as both hailed from the same locality of Khalabat Township and enjoy social relations. The DHO further said that out of total 12 patients, six have recovered but were asked to exercise extraordinary care in their social contacts. He said that apart from those who tested positive, there were a total of 194 registered suspects in the district, who have tested negative except 12 whose results are awaited from the NIH. To a question, he said the installation of PCR machine at the Ayub Teaching Hospital was under process and would accelerate early diagnostic of corona suspects in future.
