Stranded citizens in Category C countries are allowed, by National Command and Operation Centre to return before December 31.
A tweet from the country’s top monitoring body on novel virus stated that all stranded Pakistanis in Category C countries, including valid National Identity Card of Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders, will be allowed to return without exemption before new years’ eve. However, the proof of vaccination and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test 48 hours prior to boarding will be the pre-requisite for passengers amid the Omicron scare.
NCOC added that the passengers will be placed under mandatory quarantine upon arrival if they are travelling from countries that have been hit by the new variant of the deadly disease. Since vaccinations of ages 15 to 18 have not begun in some countries, the requirement for the submission of full vaccination of in-bound passengers between these ages has been extended till January 31, 2022, it added.
The development comes a day after the South Asian country confirmed its first Omicron case in seaside metropolis Karachi. In wake of the rising concerns about the new Covid variant, NCOC earlier banned inbound passengers from Category C countries, mostly European. Last week, officials beefed up travel restrictions, adding eight more countries in Category C that banned in-bound passengers.
The number of countries on Category C list has been increased from seven to 15 including the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland, South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
