- All staff of airlines and ground handling services must wear masks.
- The authority has instructed the sanitization of hands of both staff and passengers.
- All luggage must also be disinfected, as directed by the PCAA.
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has issued directives to all airlines arriving from abroad to implement preventive measures against monkeypox at airports. This comes after the country reported its first case of the virus earlier this week in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A new strain of the virus has sparked global concern due to its increased transmissibility through close contact. On August 15, Sweden confirmed a case of the new variant linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, marking its spread beyond the continent.
Health authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initially reported three monkeypox cases, later clarifying that two cases were from last year, with one being a recent strain. The PCAA’s guidelines include providing masks to passengers and mandating mask-wearing for airline and ground handling staff.
In addition, airlines are required to sanitize hands, disinfect luggage, and isolate passengers showing symptoms of monkeypox. Contact tracing efforts are underway, with the federal health ministry monitoring the situation closely and conducting genomic sequencing of the virus sample.
Vocabulary List:
- Transmissibility /trænzˌmɪsəˈbɪlɪti/ (noun): The ability of a disease to be transmitted from one person to another.
- Sanitization /ˌsænɪtaɪˈzeɪʃən/ (noun): The process of making something free from bacteria or viruses.
- Directive /dəˈrɛktɪv/ (noun): An official or authoritative instruction.
- Isolation /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/ (noun): The condition of being separated from others.
- Guidelines /ˈɡaɪdlaɪnz/ (noun): A set of rules or instructions to follow.
- Transmission /trænzˈmɪʃən/ (noun): The passing of a disease from one person to another.
How much do you know?
