ISLAMABAD: As there’s a high level of uncertainty in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of Kabul and there’s an opportunity of influx of an outsized number of Afghan migrants into Pakistan, the country’s health authorities have decided to form arrangements for testing every one entering Pakistan from the war-torn country for Covid-19 and sending those found infected with the virus to quarantine centres.
Moreover, the amount of positive Covid-19 cases across the country has declined as a results of new restrictions announced by the federal and Sindh governments.
However, Ashura, which is falling on Thursday, goes to be an enormous challenge for the govt because there’s a danger of re-emergence of coronavirus thanks to the likely participation of individuals during a sizable amount in mourning gatherings and processions to be held across the country.
An official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), who isn’t authorised to talk to the media, said there was a robust chance that an outsized number of individuals , including Pakistanis and therefore the nationals of other countries, would come from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
He said the govt had already decided that Pakistani nationals would be allowed to enter the country albeit they didn’t have negative reports of Covid-19 PCR tests. However, the people of other countries would be tested for the virus and people found infected would be shifted to quarantine centres, he added.
The official said the federal and Sindh governments have announced the new restrictions keeping in mind close proximity of the people in mourning gatherings and processions.
However, he added, it might be an enormous challenge for the govt departments concerned to form the people follow coronavirus-related SOPs.
He said the lockdown imposed by the Sindh government last week produced a positive result because the number of coronavirus cases within the province had decline.
He said the Provincial Task Force in Sindh had also decided that unvaccinated people wouldn’t be ready to get their salaries after Aug 31 which police could check vaccination certificates on roads.
Later, the federal had also imposed some restrictions, including closure of companies for 2 days during a week.
Data of the National Command and Operation Centre showed that 72 deaths and three ,669 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Monday across the country, with positivity rate standing at 6.8 per cent. the entire number of active cases of coronavirus was 88,588 as of Aug 16.
