Mobile hospital, thermal scanners set up at Torkham

Every day around 8,000 Afghans, Pakistanis and other nationals cross into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at Torkham

LANDI KOTAL: Health officials on Friday vowed that no one will be allowed to cross the border into Pakistan at Landi Kotal without first clearing the requisite thermal scans and medical tests for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

This was stated by Newly Merged Tribal Districts (NMTDs) Medical Director Riaz Afridi on Friday while visiting the Torkham border. The visit came a day after two cases of COVID-19 emerged, including in an Afghan national and a Pakistani diplomat posted in Kabul.

Afridi on Friday told The Express Tribune that they have stationed a mobile hospital equipped with modern facilities, including kits to test for COVID-19, and an isolation ward for suspected and confirmed cases at the largest crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Every day around 8,000 Afghans, Pakistanis and other nationals cross into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) [at Torkham],” Afridi said, adding that they are checked thoroughly and that no one will be allowed to enter the province without proper checking. Apart from the thermal scanners and other equipment installed at the mobile hospital, he said that mobile thermal scanners have also been provided to employees of the merged districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2020.