37 truckers returning from Afghanistan test positive for coronavirus

LANDIKOTAL: A total of 108 truck drivers returning from Afghanistan underwent tests and 37 of them tested positive for coronavirus, said a senior official on Sunday.

Khyber tribal district Deputy Commissioner Mehmood Aslam Wazir told The News that 713 persons, including women and children, have returned from Afghanistan in the last three days via Torkham border crossing. These included 195 truck drivers and their helpers. The official said according to rules, they got conducted coronavirus tests of 108 drivers and the helpers. He said the 37 of the people tested positive for the coronavirus, adding all returnees had been kept in Landikotal and Jamrud quarantine centres.

“Following the standard Operating Procedures, we are gradually conducting coronavirus tests of the rest of people who had come from Afghanistan and are closely monitoring their health condition,” said the official. He added that 177 among the quarantined persons were women who had entered Pakistan through the Torkham border. The official said Adviser to Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Ajmal Wazir on Sunday visited different quarantine centres in the Khyber district and checked the facilities being provided to the inmates. The deputy commissioner said Ajmal Wazir was satisfied with the arrangements at all the isolation facilities in the district. Meanwhile, women at the Jamrud quarantine centre staged a protest demonstration inside the isolation wards, sources said. The sources said that 177 women along with their children were quarantined after they entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. The spouses of quarantined women were Pakistanis and living in Peshawar and other cities, the sources added.