Pakistan has changed its Land Border Management Policy with neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran and made it mandatory for incomers to undergo rapid antigen tests in a bid to stop virus intake from the western border, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The NCOC on Sunday said that all the Pakistani travellers from Afghanistan and Iran whose Covid-19 test would come positive be shifted to the quarantine centres.
https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1388803406756777989
API Response: <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" class="dog"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>X / ?</title> <meta name="version" content="1"> <link href="https://abs.twimg.com/favicons/twitter.3.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://abs.twimg.com/errors/fullscreen_errors-047ca1475a6efac7c9c89a9ff92b7a20.css"> </head> <body dir="auto"> <div class="top"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1519 200"> <defs/> <path d="M708 103l9-5 13 1 2-2 5 1h8l1-1 42-5h7l7 3v1l12-2a9368 9368 0 0129-6l2-5 12 1 6-2 3 1 2 1v-2l13-2v1l4 2 7-1h1l17-3 1 2 4-1 18-7 3-1 4-1h9l13-1 1-4 3-2 13 1v2l22-2 10-3h6l10 5 16-5 15-3 2-1 8-4 6-2 12-1 7-2 8 5 7 1 22-9h7l5-1v-1l25-3 1 2 5 2v1h11l2 1 8-4h3l-1 1h11l10-6 6 3 9-1 4-1 1 1 1-2 6-1 1-1 10-2h2l7-5v1h4l3-1c11 0 23 2 34-3 2-2 7 0 10 0l12 1 4 1 9 2 12-1 11-3 11 1h4l10-6 17 1 2 1c9 2 19-3 22-11l1-1 9 1 15-5c3-1 9 4 9-5 5 0 5 3 5 7l2 3 4-1 4-2 9-4 3-3h3l8-4 6-3 26 2 7-4h18l7 1c10 3 13-6 17-12l8 4 3-1 14-3 15-2a38 38 0 01-5-1l-8-4 7-8 8-4-10-136-922 71 16 205z"/> <path d="M-36 193l9-5 13 1 2-2 5 1h8l1-1 42-5h7l7 3v1l12-2a9328 9328 0 0129-6l2-5 12 1 6-2 3 1 2 1v-2l13-2v1l4 2 7-1h1l17-3 1 2 4-1 18-7 3-1 4-1h9l13-1 1-4 3-2 13 1v2l22-2 10-3h6l10 5 16-5 15-3 2-1 8-4 6-2 12-1 7-2 8 5 7 1 22-9h7l5-1v-1l25-3 1 2 5 2v1h11l2 1 8-4h3l-1 1h9a6 6 0 002 0l10-6 6 3 9-1 4-1a6 6 0 001 1l1-2 6-1 1-1 10-2h2l7-5v1h4l3-1c11 0 23 2 34-3 2-2 7 0 10 0l12 1 4 1 9 2 12-1 11-3 11 1h4l10-6 17 1 2 1c9 2 19-3 22-11l1-1 9 1 15-5c3-1 9 4 9-5 5 0 5 3 5 7l2 3 4-1 4-2 9-4 3-3h3l8-4 6-3 26 2 7-4h18l7 1c10 3 13-6 17-12l8 4 3-1 14-3 15-2a37 37 0 01-5-1l-8-4 7-8 8-4-10-136-922 71 16 205z"/> </svg> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="content"> <a href="https://twitter.com" title="X logo"> <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true" class="x-logo"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg> </a> <h1 id="header">Nothing to see here</h1> <p id="description">Looks like this page doesn’t exist. Here’s a picture of a poodle sitting in a chair for your trouble.</p> <a id="button_search" href="/" class="button">Looking for this?</a> </div> <img id="image" src="https://abs.twimg.com/errors/ErrorState_NotFound.png" alt="A primped poodle with a bow in its hair sitting in a chair like a human."> <div class="footer"> <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/" id="footer_home">Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://status.twitterstat.us/" id="footer_status">Status</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/tos" id="footer_tos">Terms of Service</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/privacy" id="footer_privacy">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170514" id="footer_cookie">Cookie Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://legal.twitter.com/imprint" id="footer_imprint">Imprint</a></li> <li><a href="https://business.twitter.com/en/help/troubleshooting/how-twitter-ads-work.html" id="footer_ads">Ads info</a></li> <li dir="ltr">© X Corp. <span id="copyright-year">    </span></li> </ul> </div> </div> </body> <script src="https://abs.twimg.com/errors/404-8651f633fd193e0b546010676a4fac06.js"></script> </html>
However, it has been decided to deport Afghan nationals whose corona results come positive at the border.
The NCOC said the border management policy has been reviewed to ensure pedestrian travel among three countries as per the COVID-19 restriction protocols. NCOC announced that the new policy would remain in effect from May 4 to May 20.
See Also: Deaths top 18,000 as Pakistan logs 113 Covid fatalities, 4,414 infections
It has been clarified that the border terminals between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Iran would remain open seven days a week and bilateral Afghan Transit Trade and cargo policy will be exempted from the new border management policy.
The country’s apex body for policymaking in combating the deadly COVId-19, NCOC, also announced an increase in the health staff at the country's western border to implement a new border management policy for pedestrian travellers.
The NCOC statement reads, “All drivers and helpers must undergo thermal scanning at the border terminal and in case of symptoms their test will be conducted.”
See Also: Covid infection rate declining in Lahore, rising in Gujranwala: Yasmin
It may be mentioned here that in view of prevailing global and regional disease trends, Pakistan has decided to reduce inbound international travel from 5 May to 20th May. International flights to Pakistan will be reduced to 20 percent during this period.
Pakistani authorities have confirmed the presence of Brazilian and South African variant viruses in Sindh.
What is Rapid Antigen Test?
A rapid antigen test, or rapid test, is a rapid diagnostic test suitable for point-of-care testing that directly detects the presence or absence of an antigen. It is commonly used for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
Reporter Saba Bajeer
