The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has reportedly revised the quarantine policy for inbound passengers
According to media reports, the authorities have canceled their previous policy for COVID-19-positive travelers entering the country and have prepared a new set of rules for them. The new guidelines have been issued to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Health, all the provincial governments, and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Under the new rules, the infected passengers who have mild, moderate, or no symptoms, will now complete their 10-day mandatory quarantine at home, and those staying at state-administered quarantine facilities will also be shifted to their homes.
The home quarantine policy will become effective for all passengers entering Pakistan through its air and land borders. Moreover, all incoming passengers will have to take a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) at the airports and border terminals.
Headed by the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar, the NCOC had said on 3 January that the fifth local wave of the pandemic, this time with the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, is surging rapidly. Its latest data shows that the COVID-19 positivity ratio has surged to 6.12 percent during the last 24 hours with 3,019 new cases.
This is the highest positivity ratio since 8 September 2021 when the ratio was 6.43 percent. The country had last reported over 3,000 cases on 10 September 2021 when 3,480 individuals had tested positive for COVID-19.
