Pakistan revises Covid-19 protocols for inbound passengers

Pakistan has revised its coronavirus protocols for inbound passengers as the country witnessed a decline in its daily Covid-19 cases.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in a meeting reviewed the inbound policy and decided on revising the testing protocols.

The NCOC has abolished pre-boarding negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for fully vaccinated inbound ​travellers, while non-vaccinated individuals over 12 years will require pre-boarding negative PCR (72 hours old).

The forum has made full vaccination for all inbound passengers mandatory, except those aged below 12.

"Passengers between 12-18 years of age are allowed to travel without mandatory vaccination till 31st March 2022," the NCOC said.

These new protocols will go into effect on February 24 2022.

Meanwhile, the NCOC said that rapid antigen tests (RAT) on arrival for deportees and non-vaccinated pedestrians at Border Terminals; Positive cases will be home quarantine for 10 x days

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government also abolished the requirement of pre-departure RAT at airports for passengers travelling to Dubai and Sharjah from Pakistan, according to a spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The ban on rapid antigen testing has also been lifted for passengers travelling to Dubai from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

However, passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka are still required to submit a valid rapid PCR test certificate for a test conducted within 48 hours of departure.

"The 48-hour period will start from the time the sample is submitted to a laboratory," the CAA spokesperson said.

"Passengers will also undergo a PCR test on arrival in Dubai and they will self-quarantine until the test results are released."

Antigen test requirement scrapped for travellers to Dubai, Sharjah from Pakistan

As per the travel update, all transiting passengers are not needed to present a Covid-19 PCR test certificate unless it is required by their final destination.