Surveillance system installed at all airports to prevent Covid spread: officials

Health authorities on Wednesday said that a surveillance system was installed at all entry points of the country to monitor incoming passengers in the wake of the threat posed by the new BF.7 Omicron variant of Covid-19, APP reported.

The health officials said that instructions had been issued to the concerned authorities to ensure that passengers entering Pakistan go through thermal scanners installed at airports across the country.

However, the official said that the health system was “fully prepared to deal with any sub-variant” of the Omicron variant in the country.

The official added that medical staff at intensive care units (ICU) of hospitals across the country were also active to handle any situation.

Last week, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said that the “new variant” of Covid-19 currently being reported in China can pose a threat to Pakistan as well.

A statement issued by the NCOC said: “The threat of the variant entering Pakistan is present because of lockdowns lifting in China and free traveling.”

The press release noted that the threat posed by the variant was low due to the vaccination campaign.

It said that 90 percent of the eligible population in Pakistan was completely inoculated.

In the face of a surging outbreak and widespread protests against its “zero-COVID” regime of lockdowns and testing, China began dismantling it this month, becoming the last major country to move toward living with the virus.

Its containment measures had slowed the $17 trillion economy to its lowest growth rate in nearly half a century, jamming global supply chains and trade.

China reported fewer than 4,000 new symptomatic local COVID cases nationwide on December 22, and no new COVID deaths for a third consecutive day.

Authorities in China have narrowed the criteria for COVID deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts.