RAWALPINDI: Following government’s new policy, hundreds of passengers returning from different countries were sent home for self-isolation without having to wait for their Covid-19 test results even though positive cases continued to rise in the country.

Scanning and swab testing of all the passengers were conducted by the health authorities who have been keeping details of all the passengers.

However, airport authorities and airlines staffers are implementing the guidelines for outbound passengers such as aircraft disinfection, checking of passengers by medical staff through scanning before boarding the flights.

A PIA flight (PK-8286) carrying 135 passengers and seven crew members arrived at Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar from Qatar on Friday. All the passengers were scanned and their samples taken before they were allowed to go to their homes.

PK-786 carrying 262 passengers and 14 crew members arrived at Islamabad International Airport from Abu Dhabi.

All the passengers and crew members were scanned by the health authorities and swab samples of the crew and passengers taken for Covid-19. The crew members and passengers were then advised for self-isolation till the results were announced.

PK-8749 carrying 469 people, including 18 crew members, departed for Paris from Islamabad on Friday.

Before the check-in of passengers started, the aircraft was disinfected and all the passengers were scanned. However, no suspected case was reported.

Another PIA flight, PK-785, with 276 passengers and 14 crew members departed for Manchester from Islamabad.

According to the SOP, the aircraft was disinfected and all passengers and crew members were scanned. No suspected case of Covid-19 was reported.

The government has approved a self-quarantine policy for passengers arriving from abroad though the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths are increasing in Pakistan.

According to the policy, passengers will be tested on arrival and sent home for self-isolation without having to wait for test results. They will be added to the track and trace system so that the provincial governments could follow up to ensure health and safety of passengers and the citizens.

Thousands of Pakistanis have stranded in the Middle East and other countries with limited chances to travel back to their home country.

The government has been facing a shortage of quarantine facilities.

The government has been considering allowing inbound flights from the second week of June. However, a final decision is likely to be taken on June 9.

Pakistan had suspended international flight operations on March 21 but allowed the national flag carrier along with some other airlines to bring back stranded passengers from abroad.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2020