New Covid rules announced for travellers entering Pakistan

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New Covid-19 safety and precautionary rules will come into effect in Pakistan by midnight, as passengers flying from the UAE and other countries will have to take the Covid-19 test upon arrival at the South Asian nation's international airports.

As per new instructions announced by the Pakistan National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic, all passengers entering the nation from the UAE and other countries will have to quarantine themselves upon arrival.

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In addition to bringing a negative PCR test when entering Pakistan, which should not be less than 72 hours old, a rapid antigen test will be conducted of foreign travellers upon arrival at all the country's international airports. The test result can be obtained in 20 minutes.

Travellers, who test negative will undergo 10-day self-quarantine at home, and those who tested positive will be shifted to a self-paid facility for 10 days. The second PCR test will be conducted on the eighth day of quarantine. In case of a negative result, a passenger will be allowed to proceed home. But if the passengers test positive again, he will either undergo an additional quarantine period or be shifted to a hospital, depending on the advice of health authorities. At Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, a 48-member team of health workers has been stationed to conduct Covid-19 tests.

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These rules will come into effect from 12:01am on Wednesday.

Teams of local health departments will be deployed at the airport to monitor and conduct Covid-19 testing of the passengers.