NCOC abolishes pre-flight PCR test requirement for inbound passengers

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday revised its inbound policy, making full vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for all travellers arriving in Pakistan.

According to a statement issued by the forum that serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified strategy against the pandemic, the revised policy will come into effect from Thursday, Feb 24.

The NCOC also abolished “pre-boarding negative PCR” for fully vaccinated inbound passengers. The statement also said that non-vaccinated individuals aged 12 and above will still require a negative PCR test before their flight, a maximum of 72 hours old.

According to the NCOC, inbound travellers aged below 12 are exempted from compulsory vaccination whereas passengers aged 12-18 can avail the exemption from vaccination till March 31 this year.

The NCOC also announced that rapid tests will be conducted for deportees and non-vaccinated pedestrians at border terminals and those found Covid-19 positive will be quarantined for 10 days.

Read NCOC allows Pakistanis in Cat C countries to return by 31st

On Feb 22, the NCOC had decided to ease restrictions in cities having less than 10 per cent positivity rate while maintaining curbs in Gilgit, Mardan and Muzaffarabad.

According to a statement issued at the time, the number of participants in the indoor gatherings had been increased to 500 from 300 while permission had also been granted for outdoor gatherings and functions.

The capacity of passengers in public transport had been increased to 80 per cent from 70 per cent while curb on serving beverages during travel would remain in place till February 28.

The notification had said that the capacity of passengers in railways had been increased to 100 per cent from 80 per cent and that the educational institutions had been allowed to fully resume activities following the standard operating procedures.