Pakistanis stranded in China start flying back home

Arriving travellers screened at airports as flights operation to China resumes; no evacuation from Wuhan

ISLAMABAD: Stranded Pakistani nationals started flying back home as Islamabad resumed flights to and from China on Monday with health officials saying precautionary and preventive measures have been put in place to deal with the novel coronavirus, if the deadly contagion seeps into Pakistan.

The move comes as mass evacuations of foreign citizens continues from China as world airlines halt flights amid rising cacophony of global alarm bells over the deadly infestation which has proliferated to nearly two dozen countries since its outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

A Qatar Airways flight carrying 40 Pakistani students landed at the New Islamabad International Airport Monday morning where health officials screened them for the contagious virus before they were allowed to drive home, according to officials.

The passengers included Pakistani students and community members who had been stranded at Urumqi airport, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, after Pakistan suspended flight operations to China in the wake of the viral outbreak. They had made a video appeal for their evacuation.

Pakistanis in virus-hit China asked to get registered with embassy

The Qatar Airways flight was followed by a China Southern Airlines flight, which flew in 69 passengers – including 57 Pakistanis and 12 Chinese. A third flight, carrying 86 passengers, arrived directly from China.

The de facto health minister, Dr Zafar Mirza, accompanied by Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing and other health ministry officials, were present at the airport to receive the passengers. “We supervised implementation of ‘Airport SOPs’ and I interviewed passengers,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “At all airports, comprehensive screening arrangements are available.”

201/ At Islamabad airport this morning - received passengers from China along with HE Chinese Ambassador in 🇵🇰 CZ6007 brought 69 passengers including 57 Pakistanis and 12 Chinese. We supervised implementation of “Airport SOPs” & I interviewed passengers. pic.twitter.com/22GleZfmUa

— Zafar Mirza (@zfrmrza) February 3, 2020

Dr Mirza clarified that none of the passengers arrived on Monday was suspected to be infected with the virus and hence didn’t need to be kept under observation.

Speaking at a presser later in the day in Islamabad, where the Chinese envoy was also present, Dr Mirza said all the passengers – both Pakistani and Chinese nationals – were screened at the airport according to the protocol. “Each one of them was made to sign the special health declaration form,” he added.

PHOTO: SABAH

The PM’s aide said that no citizen, whether Chinese or Pakistani, is allowed to leave China without spending 14 days in observation for the contagion. “This measure has protected the people of our country.”

He added that at all airports in the country, screening systems have been strengthened. “The Pakistani government is prepared for any emergency situation,” he added. "The health department has the facilities for detecting coronavirus cases.”

On his part, Ambassador Yao Jing thanked Pakistan for extending unwavering support to China during this difficult time. Anybody leaving China is being screened for a 14-day incubation period. However, nobody from Hubei Province or Wuhan city – the epicentre of the viral outbreak – has been allowed to travel out.

Sindh sets up rapid response team to contain novel coronavirus

“Right now we are not encouraging Chinese citizens to travel abroad,” he said. He added that the Chinese citizens travelling to Pakistan are being traced and monitored by the respective embassies and companies. The 12 Chinese nationals – including four businessmen – who arrived in Pakistan on Monday were allowed to travel by Chinese authorities after strict monitoring, he added.

Arrangements at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi. PHOTO: INP

More than 500 Pakistanis are studying in various universities of Wuhan, which remains in virtual lockdown since the viral outbreak, while the total number of Pakistani nationals in China is somewhere between 28,000 and 30,000. The government has said it would not evacuate the Pakistani citizens from Wuhan despite scathing criticism from the opposition parties.

However, Ambassador Yao assured that “the Chinese consider Pakistani people as their fellow citizens and our government is taking care of all the needs of Pakistani students there.”

The PM’s aide revealed on Saturday that Pakistan has received thousands of diagnostic kits for the novel coronavirus – medically known as ‘2019 nCoV’ – from multiple sources and hoped that no more kits would be required in future.

In pictures: Teachers give online tuition to students amid China virus outbreak

Dr Mirza said lab tests for the virus would be conducted at the National Institute of Health, in Islamabad, but if need arises it would be expanded to other cities. "Samples collected from across the country will be sent to the NIH where they will be tested and reports would be available within 24 hours,” he said.

He also sought to quell the misperception that testing positive for coronavirus is a death certificate. Though no treatment for the mysterious disease has been discovered yet, but patients start recovering with improvement in their immune system, he added.

No confirmed case of the novel coronavirus has been detected anywhere in Pakistan. And Dr Mirza said seven patients suspected to have the mysterious illness have tested negative. “After receiving the diagnostic kits we tested all seven suspects who were kept in isolation wards of hospitals in Karachi, Multan and other cities,” he added. “All of them tested negative.”

Jinnah Hospital in Karachi. PHOTO: SABAH

The highly contagious disease, which is believed to have originated in a wet market of Wuhan, has proliferated despite the unprecedented steps taken by the Chinese government to stem its spread. This set off global frenzy, triggering the World Health Organisation to declare an international emergency last week.

Chinese citizens turn to virus tracker apps to avoid infected neighbourhoods

China’s death toll from the new coronavirus jumped above 360 on Monday to surpass the number of fatalities of its SARS crisis two decades ago. The 57 confirmed new deaths was the single-biggest increase since the virus was detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan, where it is believed to have jumped from animals into humans.

Beijing, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the Pakistani leadership for extending a firm support to China in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic and said it was deeply grateful and touched by such trust and confidence.

“As China fights the outbreak, Pakistan has stood firmly with us, maintaining flights and pooling medical supplies all over the country to help China. We are deeply grateful and touched by such trust and confidence,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during the first 'Online' briefing on Monday.

“China will continue to work in close communication and coordination with Pakistan to safeguard the health of Pakistanis in China,” she said.

Referring to the statements of the Pakistani leadership regarding China's fight against coronavirus, she noted that Pakistan’s prime minister and foreign minister firmly supported China's efforts to fight the epidemic. “They also expressed confidence in China winning this battle with the strength of its system. The Pakistani people are standing firmly with their Chinese brethren,” she added.

(With additional input from Agencies)