Int'l passengers arriving in Pakistan will have to provide coronavirus test results

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority has made it compulsory for international passengers arriving in Pakistan to provide coronavirus test results prior to boarding their flights.

A notification from the CAA confirmed that "All international arriving passengers to Pakistani airports shall be required to provide a copy of test result for the COVID-19 through RT-PCR conducted during the 24 hours prior to boarding the flight."

The requirements will come into effect from March 21, 2020 as per the notification.

The copy of the test result should bear the name and passport number of the passenger and the original result will be provided to the disembarkation airport in Pakistan.

The CAA said that it will be the responsibility of the airline operators to ensure that all passengers have provided a copy of their tests before boarding the aircraft.

Besides, the CAA said that passengers will also provide at the disembarkation airport in Pakistan a completed health declaration form.

The authority called on airline operators to ensure the disinfection of the aircraft as per international procedures between each disembarkation and embarkation of passengers.

Further, the CAA announced that international flight operations will resume at all international airports in Pakistan except for the ones at Gwadar and Turbat.

Pakistan had decided to suspend all international flights to all airports in Pakistan except Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. This, too, will come into effect from March 21, 2020.

Coronavirus cases rise to 237 across the country

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 237 after new patients were reported from Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.

The province-wide break up of cases as of 6:45pm was:

• Sindh: 172

• Punjab: 26

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 16

• Balochistan: 16

• Islamabad Capital Territory: 4

• Gilgit-Baltistan: 3

Globally, 162 countries have been affected, more than 7,000 people have died and more than 184,000 infected by the disease as it spreads rapidly to new territories.

The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted to Europe, which is recording a rapid rise in new cases every day.