Pakistan to shut borders, limit international flights over coronavirus
The announcement came after a meeting of the National Security Council
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan will shut all land borders and limit international flights for 15 days to halt the spread of coronavirus, its foreign minister said on Friday.
The announcement came after a meeting of the National Security Council attended by civilian and military leadership.
“It has been decided that all borders will remain closed for 15 days,” Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the local Dunya TV network. “International flights will operate only out of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports.”
Pakistan borders China and Iran, both of which have been hit hard by the virus. It has reported 28 cases of the coronavirus, a large number of which have been reported in Sindh including Karachi. 16 cases have been reported in Sindh (15 in Karachi and one in Hyderabad), three in Gilgit-Baltistan, two in Islamabad and one in Quetta. Two of the 22 patients under-treatment in Karachi have fully recovered.
