Pakistan Embassy in Washington shut owing to 'Covid-19 exposure'

WASHINGTON: The Pakistan Embassy in Washington has been closed due to possible “Covid-19 exposure” on its premises, according to a notification issued to this effect.

The embassy, including consular section will remain closed for three days from January 4-6, it said.

In the meantime, the notification said the embassy will carry out decontamination of the premises and testing of the staff.

The consular services will remain suspended during this period. However, the online facilities for visa and passport renewal as well as mail-in visa services will remain available as usual.

Last week, the United States recorded more than 20 million cases of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University, as the New Year brought another grim milestone underlining the country’s struggle to quell the virus.

The US has so far registered 20,007,149 cases and 346,408 deaths in the pandemic, the Baltimore-based university said, making it the country with by far the highest official number of cases and the highest death toll.