Covid-19 sub-variant: Govt orders screening of passengers at all airports

The government has ordered screening of incoming passengers at all international airports to prevent the entry of the JN.1 subvariant of COVID-19 into Pakistan.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said it was 'vigilantly' observing a recent surge in Covid-19 cases in different countries.

“Keeping in view surge in the COVID-19 cases in some countries, NCOC is vigilantly observing the situation,” it said.

In order to keep the new variant at bay, the NCOC ordered two per cent screening of travellers arriving at all entry points, along with “stringent vigilance”.

However, health experts have termed these measure ineffective in preventing transmission of the sub-variant.

The NCOC's move comes amidst global concerns about emerging variants of the virus, and authorities are taking precautionary steps to curb their spread within the country.

Earlier, on December 19, the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled JN.1 as a "variant of interest" due to its "fast-spreading nature." 

A day before this announcement, Federal Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan mentioned that a new form of COVID-19, called "JN.1 Omicron," had been identified in some countries, and Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health reported that they conducted 3,609 COVID-19 tests during the last week, revealing 16 positive cases with no reported deaths.