The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) — in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus — has made it compulsory for all international passengers arriving in the country to provide a copy of the test result for COVID-19.

The number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 237 on Tuesday as Prime Minister Imran urged the nation to prepare for an epidemic.

According to a notification issued by the authority on March 17, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, all passengers will be required to provide a copy of the test results conducted 24 hours prior to boarding the flight. The measure will go into effect from March 21.

“It shall be the responsibility of the airline operators to ensure that no passengers are allowed to board an aircraft without the test results,” the statement read, adding that the requirement will be in addition to the submission of a health declaration form.

“The test results must include the name and passport number of the passenger," the statement said. It added that the original test result shall be required "at the point of disembarkation in Pakistan".

In addition to the following measures, the CAA also directed all airlines to disinfect their planes each time passengers board and disembark the aircraft, according to internationally recognised procedures.

Further, the notification said that international flight operations will resume at all international airports, except those in Gwadar and Turbat, from March 21 after "equipping the airports with the necessary infrastructure and resources to ensure proper screening of international passengers".

On Saturday, the authority had restricted International flight operations to only three airports — Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi — in the country to discourage the spread of the virus.