Govt bans import of animals amid coronavirus fears

ISLAMABAD: Amid fears of possible transmission and spread of a novel coronavirus in the country, the Ministry of Commerce has imposed a ban on import of any “zoonotic” animals or birds, ARY News reported.

“On the recommendations of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination MNHSR&C, the Ministry of Commerce has imposed a ban on the import of any zoonotic (animals and birds etc.) with immediate effect and until further orders,” read a notification issued to this effect.

“The MNHSR&C has informed that the origin of recent outbreak of Novel type of Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been traced to be zoonotic in nature, which may potentially undermine the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of said disease in Pakistan,” it said.

“In view of the above, it is requested to take immediate steps to implement the said ban on import of zoonotic (animals and birds etc) in Pakistan.”

Earlier today, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza chaired a meeting to review measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Speaking during the meeting which was also attended by Federal Secretary Health Dr Allah Baksh Malik and armed forces representative Major General Amir Ikram, Dr Zafar Mirza said that National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad received 25 samples of suspected coronavirus patients.

“All of them have tested negative showing that there is not a single case of coronavirus reported in the country,” he said adding that they were taking steps to adopt all measures aimed at tackling the spread of coronavirus in the country