ISLAMABAD
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that the counters for conducting rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Covid-19 have become functional at all international airports of the country.
A CAA spokesman said on Friday that the services of UAE-accredited Pakistani labs have been made available at the airports.
The spokesperson said that the counters have started taking rapid PCR tests for the passengers departing from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Quetta, Peshawar and Faisalabad airports.
“Airport managers have been instructed by the CAA to provide all facilities and assistance to the passengers,” he further said.
The development comes after hundreds of passengers were barred from travelling to the United Arab Emirates for not having a rapid PCR test, which is required to be conducted within four hours before the departure of the flight.
Earlier on August 6, in a letter written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the authority stated that the rapid PCR testing facility cannot be provided to departing passengers for Dubai as it was currently unavailable in Pakistan. It urged the MoFA officials to take up the matter with relevant authorities in the UAE on priority basis so that they can reconsider their policy.
Earlier on Monday last, Sialkot International Airport installed a rapid PCR testing facility. The airport introduced the testing facility as an initiative by local businessmen.
The airport itself has the distinction of being the first privately owned public airport in Pakistan, built through funding and efforts by the business community of Sialkot. Along with the nearby cities of Gujranwala and Gujrat, Sialkot forms part of the so-called “Golden Triangle” of Pakistan’s industrial cities with export-oriented economies.
The UAE lifted a ban on transit passenger traffic from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries on August 5, but requires passengers travelling from these destinations to present negative rapid PCR tests taken no longer than four hours prior to departure. The PCAA had earlier said the country did not have the resources to conduct rapid PCR tests, and only rapid antigen testing (RAT) was currently available at Pakistan airports.
The more expensive PCR test detects the presence of viral RNA and can determine a COVID-19 infection even before the person becomes infectious, allowing for early isolation. The RAT test detects viral proteins, revealing patients at the peak of the infection when the body has the highest concentration of proteins.
