Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf on Saturday said there has been a surge in Covid-19 positive cases among the passengers arriving through international flights during the last week, and hence the number of passengers was reduced in order to prevent steep spike in cases.
Addressing a press conference alongside PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, Yusuf said every Pakistani who returns to the country from abroad will have to be quarantined for 48 hours. “Our main goal is to stem the spread of the virus,” he said. “Which is why when a passenger returns it is mandatory he/she quarantines for 48 hours. There are no exemptions for anyone with this rule. Passengers have the choice to either quarantine on their own expenses in hotels or stay for free in government centres,” he went on to say. “Till now, we have repatriated 15,000 Pakistanis from different countries while more than 100,000 Pakistanis are still stuck abroad in 88 different countries,” he added.
Giving a breakdown, the SAPM said more than 15,000 Pakistanis stuck in Saudi Arabia are waiting to return home. “Those wishing to return need to register with the embassies. The embassies will then decide depending on the urgency which plane you can board and on what date. The embassies are playing a crucial role in helping us,” he said. “Tests are conducted after two days, but due to the high number of tests being conducted each day, there is no guarantee that the test will come back in two days,” he said
“We have received many complaints about the test results taking extra time,” he said. “We are conducting over 9,500 tests daily in the country and we receive complaints of test results not coming back in time,” he said. “We cannot allow anyone to return home without their test result coming back negative. Even if there is a chance your test comes back negative, there is a high probability that the others on the flight test positive and the other passengers might later test positive as well,” he noted.
Yusuf said because of the limited testing capacity of the provinces, only 7,500 passengers can be brought at a time. “Before flying our planes there to bring back passengers we have to negotiate with that country’s government. There is no guarantee that just because we have announced flights, that there will be a flight available from that country,” he remarked. “Right now, the ticket prices are three to four times higher than normal due to the circumstances and many people cannot afford those prices which are why the PIA flights are for them,” he said.
The SAPM said they will be operating an additional 30 fights from May 1 to 10. “We are increasing our capacity so that more stranded Pakistanis can return home. We still have capacity issues which is why the prime minister has asked the provinces to increase their testing capacity,” he said. “This week our focus will be on bringing back Pakistanis stranded in Saudi Arabia and the African countries. As we keep increasing our testing capacity we can increase our number of flights,” he added.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza advised the citizens to strictly follow all 13 SOPs countrywide to effectively fight against the disease. He said these SOPs have been prepared for all persons concerned keeping in view the prevailing disease situation, asking people to visit official website to read these SOPs. He said there are 20-point SOPs regarding mosques during Ramazan, adding that there are SOPs for corona positive patients with regard to their quarantine and travelling. He said the government has also issued SOPs on burial of the deceased, adding there are SOPs on categorization of hospitals regarding coronavirus. He said the government has issued SOPs on social distancing and for those eligible for corona testing, adding there are SOPs on treatment and clinical management of corona patients.
He said the policy of smart lockdown can be successfully implemented if citizens fully cooperate with the government. He said people will be informed through media about their responsibilities and the citizens can also visit official websites to know about these SOPs.
