Pakistan starts screening passengers from Middle East

Following the confirmation of the first case a sub-variant of Omicron, the fast-spreading strain of Covid-19, the authorities started screening passengers coming in from the Gulf.

The rapid antigen testing of passengers has started at the airports of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. In the first phase, it is being conducted randomly. The officials are implementing the directives of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Centre for Disease Control, National Institute of Health (NIH) in light of the Health Ministry’s instructions.

Prior to this, emergency screening arrangements were completed at all three international airports of the country.

Officials said that for aircraft carrying up to 150 passengers, they were testing 10 to 15 people, while for aircraft carrying up to 250 passengers, they were testing 15 to 20 people.

A spokesperson for the CAA said that the rapid antigen testing would continue at the aforementioned airports till further orders from the Centre for Disease Control.

It is worth mentioning here that while the authorities have not imposed any restrictions this time around, they have urged the people to adopt precautionary measures and to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19.