Six air traffic controllers have been quarantined after they were suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus, Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Abdus Sattar Khokhar said in a statement.

The suspected patients were posted at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and have been isolated as per the standard operating procedure, Khokhar said.

He added that directions have been issued to screen all staff members of air traffic control who are posted in Karachi for any symptoms of COVID19.