KARACHI: Pakistan on Sunday announced to close Chaman border with Afghanistan for one-week amid the coronavirus outbreak in the neighbouring country.
The interior ministry in its notification said the border will remain close for one week starting Monday i.e. March 2.
The move comes after Kabul confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on Monday with several others being tested for the diseases. Ferozuddin Feroz, the minister of public health, told a press conference one of three suspected cases had been confirmed in the Western province of Herat.
In addition to the border closure, strict precautionary measures have also been put in place in border areas to stop the spread, including the establishment of an isolation ward at DHQ Hospital Parachinar.
Moreover, screening at the Babe-e-Dosti border crossing in Chaman is underway. Medical checkpoints have also been set up at Torkham border for those coming into the country from Afgahnistan’s Nangarhar province.