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Pakistan HC visa section temporarily closed due to coronavirus in London

Pakistan HC visa section temporarily closed due to coronavirus in London
March 12, 2020
LONDON (92 News) – The Pakistan High Commission visa section has temporarily been closed due to fears of coronavirus in London. The High Commission Consular Section officer has contacted the National Health Service (NHS) officer for fever and flu. The NHS has isolated the patient and summoned him for tests. It has been decided to spray insecticides after closing the High Commission. The Pakistan High Commission spokesperson said that coronavirus was transmitted to the officer from a person who visited the office for a visa. He said that the visa section has been closed as a precautionary measure. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) had described the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic for the first time as Britain and Italy announced multi-billion-dollar war chests to fight the disease. “We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction,” Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva. There are now more than 118,000 infections in 114 countries and 4,291 people have died of the virus, with the numbers expected to climb, Tedros said. “We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic,” he said, using the formal name of the coronavirus. Use of the word pandemic does not change the WHO’s response, said Dr Mike Ryan, the head of the Geneva-based agency’s emergencies program. WHO officials have signaled for weeks that they may use the word “pandemic” but said it does not carry legal significance. The WHO classified the outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern” on Jan. 30, triggering an increase in global response coordination. “The use of this term (pandemic) however highlights the importance of countries throughout the world working cooperatively and openly with one another and coming together as a united front in our efforts to bring this situation under control,” said Nathalie MacDermott, an expert at King’s College London.