From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Pakistan on Thursday decided to suspend flights to and from Iran at midnight in light of the swelling number of coronavirus cases in the neighbouring country.
Road and rail movement between the two countries had already been suspended earlier in the week.
The decision comes a day after two cases of coronavirus were reported in Pakistan. Both the infected people had recently visited Iran, where the number of people affected by the virus has grown drastically in the past few days.
“Aviation Division has decided to cease all direct flights between Pakistan and Iran with effect from midnight between 27 and 28 February 2020 till further notice,” a message from Joint Secretary of Aviation Abdul Sattar Khokhar said.
Meanwhile, a round-the-clock coronavirus control room has been set up at the Aviation Division, confirmed the spokesperson.
The government has decided to continue flights to and from Saudi Arabia for passengers holding iqama or permanent Saudi nationalities. However, people wishing to visit Saudi Arabia for Umrah or tourism will not be allowed on the flights.
The decision was taken in light of the Saudi government’s decision to suspend Umrah and tourism operations in light of the growing number of coronavirus affectees all over the world.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also tweeted about these measures and said that while the national carrier will continue flight operations as usual, people with Umran or tourist visas will not be able to go to Saudi Arabia as “PIA will fully implement instructions given by the Saudi government”.
Earlier, a source from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told DawnNewsTV that a flight coming from Oman was disembarked at the runway at Jinnah International Airport. The passengers were checked for the virus on the runway before they made their way to immigration and out of the airport.
The CAA source further said that the decision to disembark flights and check patients at the runway was taken at a meeting at the Chief Minister House this morning. After the meeting, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah briefed the media about the measures being taken by the Sindh government in an effort to control the virus outbreak. On Thursday morning, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza called on people who have recently travelled to virus-hit countries to call on the helpline.
“If you or somebody you know have recently returned from China, Iran or a country where #COVID?19 is prevalent and if there are symptoms like fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, please report by calling at 1166,” he said. Yesterday, the Sindh health department announced that a young man had tested positive for the coronavirus in Karachi the first confirmed case in Pakistan. Shortly after, Dr Mirza had confirmed the case in Karachi and one more, both coming from Iran.
“I can confirm first two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable,” said Dr Mirza via a tweet.
“No need to panic, things are under control,” he added.
Later, addressing a late-night press conference in Quetta, Mirza said one of the cases was reported in Sindh while the second was confirmed in “federal areas”. He added that both the affected persons had travelled to Iran in the last two weeks.
He, however, refused to comment further on the two cases. In response to a question, he said 15 suspected cases of the virus are currently under investigation, while 100 cases have tested negative so far.
He said instead of creating panic or worrying needlessly, people should “take precautions and show responsibility”. Mirza urged the public to go to hospitals if they start experiencing any of the symptoms and contact the government helpline on 1166. He said due to measures taken by the government to prevent the spread of the virus, Pakistan is the last country in the region where COVID-19 has been reported. “We are on the right track. With Allah’s blessings, this [virus] will not take the form of an outbreak in Pakistan,” the SAPM said, adding that measures are in place to prevent an outbreak.
The 22-year-old male patient in Sindh had travelled to Iran where he acquired COVID-19, Media Coordinator to the Health and Population Welfare Minister Meeran Yousuf said in a statement, days after Pakistan closed its land border with Iran, where 19 people have died from the virus. The patient travelled from Iran to Karachi by plane on February 20.
