Activities at Chaman border remain suspended on 2nd day amid coronavirus threat

F.P. Report

CHAMAN: All activities at Chaman border remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Tuesday amid coronavirus threat.

Pak-Afghan Transits Trade, NATO supplies and bilateral trade between both the countries remain suspended.

Meanwhile, an isolation ward comprising forty beds has been setup at the Civil Hospital in Chaman, said the deputy commissioner and added that a team of 12 doctors has been appointed to deal any kind of emergency.

Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan will remain closed for seven days, according to a notification of the Ministry of Interior.

The porous border with Afghanistan is a cause of concern for Pakistan after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran.

Islamabad has closed its border crossings with Iran while Kabul has also suspended all travel to the country, which has reported over 50 deaths out of nearly 543 infections — making it one of the hardest hit countries outside the virus epicentre China.

Afghanistan announced its first virus infection on last Monday involving a patient who had recently been in Iran where millions of Afghans live.

The virus has spread to more than 25 countries, killing over 3,000 and infecting 85,000, mostly in China. But new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia have fanned fears of the contagion taking hold in poor nations which lack the healthcare infrastructure to cope.