Pak Scraps Negative COVID-19 Test For Fully Vaccinated Inbound Passengers

Pakistan on Wednesday abolished the negative anti-coronavirus test for fully vaccinated inbound passengers following an improvement in the COVID-19 situation. The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the top body to combat the ailment, reviewed the inbound policy in a meeting. In a statement, the NCOC said that the new policy about testing protocols will be applicable for inbound passengers from February 24.

“Pre-boarding negative PCR has been abolished for fully vaccinated inbound travellers,” it said, adding that non-vaccinated individuals of 12 years and above will require pre-boarding negative PCR (72 hours old). The NCOC said full vaccination for all inbound passengers was mandatory but those below 12 years of age were exempted from mandatory vaccination.

However, passengers between 12-18 years are allowed to travel without mandatory vaccination till March 31. It also mandated the Rapid Antigen Test on arrival for deportees and non-vaccinated pedestrians at border terminals and announced that positive cases will be home quarantined for 10 days.

The new measures were announced as the country detected 1,232 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the number of confirmed cases to 1,503,873. Also, another 43 people died in this period and the COVID-19 toll reached 30,096, reported the Ministry of National Health Services. Another 3,154 people recovered from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking Pakistan's total number of recoveries to 1,409,515. The tally of active cases has fallen to 64,262 while the number of critical patients stands at 1,230, according to the ministry. The latest data shows that Pakistan has tackled the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic that hit the country last month.

With PTI Inputs