Pakistan suspends all international flights for two weeks

In this file photo, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane is seen on the runway. (Courtesy: social media)

• Flight suspension is likely to affect about 200,000 passengers until April 4
• The news about possible lockdown of cities is fake, says Moeed Yusuf

ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday announced it was suspending all international flights to Pakistan for two weeks, hoping to contain coronavirus infections as the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases reached at least 733 with three fatalities.
The suspension of flights will become effective from 8pm on Saturday and last till the evening of April 4, disrupting the plans of about 200,000 passengers in different countries who were scheduled to land in Pakistan during this period.
“This is a difficult decision for the government … but we can’t take any risk and want to ensure the safety of the public,” Moeed Yusuf, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on National Security, said while addressing a news conference along with Dr. Zafar Mirza and chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lt. Gen. Muhammad Afzal in Islamabad.
The flight suspension will not be applicable to cargo planes and diplomatic missions, Yusuf said, adding that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will also be allowed to bring its planes back.
Pakistan has been struggling to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed almost 12,000 lives worldwide as of Saturday and crippled health care services around the globe, by introducing a raft of precautionary measures. These include the establishment of large quarantine centers, screening domestic and international passengers and testing persons with virus symptoms.
Earlier on Tuesday, Islamabad made it mandatory for all passengers flying to Pakistan to produce a copy of coronavirus test results obtained 24 hours before boarding. The measure was heavily criticized as unpragmatic, but came into effect on Saturday. 
“This COVID-19 certification for international passengers will be abolished when we resume our flight operation,” Yusuf said, adding the international flight suspension was “temporary.”
Yusuf also clarified the government was not locking down any city, amid rumors widely circulating on social media.
“The news [regarding the possible lockdown of cities] circulating on the social media is fake,” he said. “Please pay heed to information released through official channels only.”
However, Pakistan’s most populous province Punjab, announced on Saturday it would be shutting down its shopping malls, markets and public places until at least Tuesday morning. This follows a partial closure in southern Sindh province earlier in the week, as the number of confirmed cases there surged.
Meanwhile, the NDMA chairman said the government was building special rooms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces to set up quarantine centers.
“These will be special rooms with attached bathrooms,” he said, adding that the government was also procuring test kits, personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators to deal with the situation.
Earlier, the country’s railways minister, Shaikh Rashid Ahmed, said the government was shutting operations of 46 trains till the 15th of Ramadan.
“Around 12 trains will stop running from tomorrow while another 34 trains will stop operating from midnight March 24,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday.