https://arab.news/6n4zb
- Pakistan has also closed land border with Iran where death toll from infections has soared
- There are presently four confirmed cases of the virus on Pakistani soil
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday closed its border with Afghanistan at Chaman crossing point for a preliminary one-week period amid fears the coronavirus epidemic could spread from the neighboring country.
The Pakistan embassy in Kabul said, Sunday, in a statement the Pak-Afghan crossing point at Chaman would be closed from Monday “to prevent the spread of cornavirus on both sides of the crossing point.”
The measure comes after several suspected coronavirus cases were reported in Afghanistan in recent days, and at least one was confirmed by officials. The war torn country’s health infrastructure is unequipped to deal with a major outbreak.
Last week, Pakistani border authorities deployed health teams at Torkham and Ghulam Khan border crossing points to screen out all people and vehicles entering Pakistan.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan also closed their land borders with Iran last week, after the virus death toll in that country clocked in at the highest of any country outside the disease epicenter of China. A majority of the infected patients in Afghanistan and Pakistan have been traced back to Iran.
Pakistan’s State Minister for Health, Zafar Mirza, confirmed on Saturday that the country had detected two new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of patients with the infection to four. In a little over two months, the disease has killed almost 3,000 people worldwide and infected more than 86,000.
Mirza further said during Saturday’s media briefing that all entry points to Pakistan would be under more stringent surveillance and any persons coming from affected countries would be quarantined for tests. Affected countries and territories now clock in at 64 around the world.