NCOC directs to ensure quality assessment of rapid PCR tests at airports

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has directed the relevant authorities to ensure quality assessment of rapid PCR tests at the country’s airports following the concerns raised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aviation authority, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had raised concerns over the authenticity of the COVID-19 rapid PCR tests at Pakistani airports after hundreds of incoming passengers tested positive for the virus upon arrival.

Following the UAE’s concerns, the NCOC directed the health ministry, foreign ministry and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to take measures and monitoring mechanism to validate rapid PCR tests at airports.

It stated that 75,000 passengers had departed for the UAE in August 2021 after undergoing rapid PCR tests while 684 travellers tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.

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It read, “Such lapses not only undermine national stance of disease control but also have serious implications on exhaustive efforts put-in for resumption of flights to UAE.”

The NCOC directed to ensure quality assessment of rapid PCR tests at airports, whereas, the health ministry was ordered to adopt ‘stringent measures and monitoring measures’ to validate the tests to avoid such lapses.

The centre asked the relevant authority to take notice of those laboratories compromising the qualitative COVID-19 testing.