NCOC allows stranded Pakistanis in Cat C countries to return by Dec 31

Islamabad: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday said that all Pakistanis stranded in countries placed on Category C will be allowed to return to Pakistan without restriction until December 31.

The decision was taken a day after Pakistan confirmed its first Omicron case of the coronavirus.

According to the NCOC, the valid National Identity Card of Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC) holders will also be allowed to return to Pakistan without exemption till December 31.

According to NCOC, as vaccination of 15 to 18 years of age has not started in a few countries therefore mandatory full vaccination for inbound passengers between 15 to 18 years of age has been extended till January 31, 2022, instead of December 1, 2021. 

On Monday, Pakistan confirmed the first Omicron case through genome sequencing. The 65-year-old woman who is suffering ‘Omicron variant’ has recovered her health and the COVID tests of 51 people, who interacted infected woman, are being conducted.

According to a statement of hospital spokesperson, the patient was isolated at home and doing well, adding that so far only one case of the variant has been detected in the country.

In a statement, the hospital also said that the ‘Omicron variant’ infected woman was not COVID vaccinated. 

The Omicron case was confirmed by the National Institue of Health in the federal capital.

“NIMS has been able to confirm that a recently suspected sample from Karachi is indeed the ‘Omicron variant’ of SARS-CoV2. This is the first confirmed case but continued surveillance of identified samples is in place to identify trends,” the NCOC tweeted.