Faisal Edhi developed corona symptoms a day after meeting PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Faisal Edhi, the head of Edhi Foundation and the son of the world renowned philanthropist late Abdul Sattar Edhi, who was recently tested positive for the coronavirus, has said he felt the symptoms of coronavirus a day after meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to ‘Aaj Khanzada Key Sath’ programme of Geo News, Faisal Edhi said he met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday and on Thursday he developed the symptoms of coronavirus. He said he experienced fever, headache, pain in the body and lose motions. He said he isolated himself on Thursday and after five days his tests came out to be positive.

Faisal Edhi said he remained in the Prime Minister Officer for about six to seven minutes and talked to the prime minister for about half a minute. He said he never shook hands with anyone in the Prime Minister House and remained seated on the chair. He said it would be better if the PM Office is disinfected as any harm to the prime minister or his staff will not be a good thing. He said he has been advised by doctors to use paracetamol and Vitamin-C. He said those who feel the symptoms must immediately undergo coronavirus test to save other people from the disease. He said the samples of his wife and son Saad have also been taken and his family members have been asked to undergo isolation as a precaution.

Meanwhile, speaking in another private new channel programme, Faisal Edhi said he fully took precautions and kept social distancing after the outbreak of coronavirus, but he probably contracted the disease due to the use of phone or furniture at his office. He said his son is tested twice and both time the result was negative. He said that according to doctors, he was infected with the virus during the last 17 or 18 days during which he has met the prime minister and several other important personalities. He said he has never shaken hands with anyone one during this period. He appealed to the people to observe social distancing. He also appealed to the religious leaders to guide the people during this time of crisis.

Mumtaz Alvi adds: Prime Minister Imran Khan has agreed to undergo the test for the coronavirus after the Edhi Foundation Head Faisal Edhi, who met him last week, was tested positive for the COVID-19.

Dr Faisal Sultan, who is the Prime Minister’s focal person for coronavirus, said here at a joint news conference that he was happy to announce that, as a responsible citizen, Prime Minister would be tested for the virus. He explained that the tests would be conducted after he had met recently a person (Faisal Edhi), whose had tested positive for the coronavirus. Faisal Edhi had presented a check of donation for the PM Coronavirus Fund during the brief meeting. The news of Faisal’s tests went viral and the news channels and social media speculated about the possibility of more people, whom Faisal Edhi had met could be at the risk of catching the virus.