Coronavirus: ‘No proof triple mutant from India reached Pakistan’

The health experts are urging the government to ban all flights from the UK as well as Gulf states to prevent the entry of B.1.617.2 or Indian variant into Pakistan.No evidence is available if the ‘triple mutant Covid variant from India’ or B.1.617.2 has managed to reach Pakistan. All possible measures, including ‘reduced inbound travel’, testing on arrival at airports and quarantine for those tested positive are in place to keep the deadly variant at bay, the country’s top health officials said on Sunday.

“We have reduced inbound air traffic by 80 percent and we are asking all passengers to get tested before boarding while they are also being tested on arrival. We are keeping those testing positive in quarantine to ensure the variant dubbed as triple mutant or Indian variant does not manage to get into Pakistan,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan told The News.

Several health experts are urging the government to ban all direct or indirect flights from the United Kingdom as well as Gulf states to prevent the entry of B.1.617.2 or Indian variant into Pakistan, which has spread to around 50 countries in the world and now declared a ‘variant of concern’ and a global health risk by the World Health Organization (WHO).

When asked if he was sure that the Indian variant was not present and spreading in Pakistan, Dr. Faisal Sultan said: “We don't have documentation. Yet, to exclude anything in a country of 220 million is impossible”, but added that all possible measures were being adopted, which include testing all the passengers on arrival, not depending on pre-tests.