Head of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) Dr Jamal Raza on Friday said that the coronavirus is not a killer virus and most of the deaths from it were suffered by those aging above 80 years.

“Over 83,000 coronavirus cases are reported globally and most of the aged people who died from it were already suffering from other health issues,” he said while addressing a presser.

“The death rate among people aged between 25 to 40 years is 0.2 percent,” he said.

The NICH head said that children not suffering from the influenza symptoms could go to schools. However, he advised against sending children suffering from flu, fever and cough to school.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh government has announced to close down all educational institutes in the city for two days-Thursday and Friday- after a patient from Karachi tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.

He further said that not everybody needs to wear a mask to avoid contracting the virus. “Only those who already suffered from the virus and those coming in contact with them need to wear masks,” Dr Jamal Raza said.

He advised people to properly wash hands at regular intervals and adopt all preventive measures to remain safe from contracting the virus.