Daily Times

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided technical and operational support to the Government of Pakistan for COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and response at Points of Entry (POE) in compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR). According to WHO, the assistance included strengthening capacities for entry and exit screening for early detection, active case finding and referral of COVID-19 cases including equipment, information, education and communication (IEC) material and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies. Trainings were conducted at major Points of Entry (POE) for capacity building of staff focusing on orienting COVID-19 related emerging guidance and implementation of national SOPs derived from WHO technical guidelines. As part of the continuing support, Dr Palitha Mahipala WHO Representative in Pakistan recently donated COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing kits to strengthen the testing capacity at Points of Entry (POE) to comply with the new travel restrictions for the inbound passengers from the UK and South Africa to contain the spread of new UK SARS COV2 variant.