Islamabad

Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced a new travel advisory at the direction of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) which will take effect on January 5 to combat an impending fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country fuelled by the Omicron variant.

The CAA has made it mandatory for people to get their PCR test done 48 hours before their flights. In addition to this, travellers who are aged 15 or above will be required to show their negative reports upon arrival in Pakistan, Geo News reported.

Another change being made is to remove the ban which was in place for countries in B and C categories, CAA said.

The new guidelines announced by the CAA include mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and possession of proof of the vaccination, applicable for all passengers above 15 years of age; valid negative PCR test result conducted within the 48 hours prior to commencement of travel to Pakistan which is applicable for all passengers above 6 years of age; Rapid Antigen Testing upon arrival for all direct flights from Europe; Rapid Antigen Testing upon arrival of a minimum of 50 per cent inbound flights from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, and selective Rapid Antigen Testing for all inbound flights other than all direct flights from Europe and inbound flights from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar.

Any passenger who tests positive for COVID will be sent to quarantine for 10 days. Travellers will not be charged for expenses incurred at quarantine centres set up by the health department, Geo News reported.

National Command and Operation Centre said that the fifth wave of Covid is spreading at a faster pace and Pakistan has reported its highest Covid cases in two months. NCOC confirmed that the positivity rate in Karachi has risen from 2 per cent to 6 per cent in the last three days.