KARACHI: As many as 99 passengers travelling to Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi were found infected with Covid-19 on Saturday.

Sources in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said these passengers were travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) via different flights. They were subjected to rapid antigen tests four hours before their departure at Karachi airport, which showed they were infected with the coronavirus.

Subsequently, they were barred from boarding their flights and shifted to quarantine centres.

On Jan 14, eighteen passengers tested positive for Covid-19 after they underwent rapid antigen tests upon their arrival at Karachi airport from Jeddah and Dubai.

Of the affected passengers, 16 landed in Karachi via a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-9732 from Jeddah, whereas, the remaining two Covid-positive travellers flew in from Dubai via EK-600.

The Covid-positive travellers included 17 men and a woman who were later moved to their homes for mandatory 10-day quarantine.

It is noteworthy that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Jan 12 decided to revise the quarantine policy for inbound passengers.

The authorities cancelled their central quarantine policy for inbound passengers and prepared new guidelines for Covid-positive travellers arriving in Pakistan.