Pak airports to scan passengers for coronavirus: Mirza

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza Thursday said all passengers arriving into Pakistan from China will have to undergo a strict screening at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore Airports in the wake of recent corona virus outbreak in China where number of cases jumped to almost 440.

Talking to PTV news, he said the health ministry through an advisory, ramped up measures to block the spread of mystery virus in the country. “We are closely monitoring the development and screening passengers coming from China,” he said.

He added that now many

Chinese went for their new Year celebrations and when they return back, they would be strictly screened by the concerned authorities.

Ministry of health has asked the three major airports to immediately implement the scanning procedure. The ministry chalked out a detailed action plan which should be strictly followed by the airports and all concerned airlines, Dr Zafar Mirza said.

Dr Zafar said a helpline would soon be activated to facilitate prompt reporting of any possible cases.

All the hospitals across the country have also been alerted and anyone recently visiting China and found with symptoms of pneumonia, cold, sneezing, coughing and fever have been requested to report to the nearest health facility center, he added.

Dr. Zafar said, the Ministry of Health is closely collaborating with the Embassy of China and the World Health Organisation ( WHO) for uninterrupted monitoring of the recent situation.

He said government has stepped up its efforts to detect and prevent the new strain of corona virus, which spread across China recently, adding, no any corona virus case was reported in Pakistan.

“Major hospitals in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are being linked with surveillance systems on airports, seaports and ground crossings,” he added.