Kiani promises to strengthen airport health department

A CAA official explains that a scanner is only activated for flights which arrive from the high-risk countries

RAWALPINDI: A day after it emerged that no health officials manning the scanners set up to screen travellers from certain countries for deadly diseases such as Ebola and the Congo Virus at the new Islamabad International Airport (IIA) were not always available, the top health official of the country visited the airport and vowed to strengthen health centres at points of entry.

Earlier, a report from a security service had stated that allegedly, officials deputed to operate the scanners on travellers from certain high-disease-risk countries to prevent the transmission of the disease into the country were absent. It suggested activating the machine to actively scan passengers.

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official had explained that the scanner is only activated for flights which arrive from the high-risk countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2019.