The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will quarantine the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel, its chairperson, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, told Geo News on Thursday, as preventive measures are ramped up to tackle coronavirus from spreading into the metropolis.
Akhtar said the containers, especially those arriving from China and southeast Asia, would be thoroughly checked, and that special care would be taken to ensure that the staff on these ships remained limited to the port only.
The crew aboard these ships were previously allowed to leave the ports when they arrived in the country but the authorities have now revoked the permission amid the virus’ outbreak, he said.
Almost 30 to 35 percent of Pakistan’s total trade is with China, amounting to nearly Rs20 billion. Thousands of containers aboard ships from China are brought in monthly into the country.
China virus deaths rise to 170
Wuhan, the coronavirus-hit Chinese city at the centre of a viral epidemic, entered quarantine on Thursday as deaths from a fast-spreading virus shot up to 170.
Originating in the central city of Wuhan, coronavirus has now infected 7,711 people in China, latest official data revealed. Almost all deaths have been in the Hubei province — of which Wuhan is the capital — where 60 million people are now living under virtual lock-down, staying inside their homes and only venturing outside with masks on.
Source: Geo TV
