Expats in Omicron-affected countries can return till Dec 5

November 29, 2021 (MLN): Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) would facilitate all those Pakistanis, stranded in Omicron corona variant-affected countries to return home, till December 5 under the set Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs), a report by APP revealed on Monday.

The travel for stranded Pakistanis would be allowed ‘without exemption’ but under the prescribed health and testing protocols, the authority said in a recent notification, imposing a ‘complete ban' on direct and indirect inbound air travel from seven countries after the emergence of the Omicron virus in South Africa and its spread in adjoining regions, it added.

The authority placed the countries, including South Africa, Hong Kong, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Botswana, in Category C and completely restricted inbound travel from there.

It elaborated that Pakistani passengers traveling from these countries on ‘extreme emergency’ would only be allowed after ‘obtaining exemptions’ and following health/testing protocols like vaccination certificate, negative PCR report (maximum 72 hours old) before boarding, and the RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) on arrival at the airport.

It is said that the RAT negative cases will undergo a three-day mandatory home quarantine, followed by the re-RAT on 3rd day by the respective civil administration. While the RAT positive cases would be bound to a 10-day quarantine (at government/self-paid facilities) and the PCR test would be conducted on the 10th day in quarantine.

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