Pakistan will close its border with Afghanistan for seven days from Monday to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, as the authorities ramped up efforts to stop the new cases of infection.
The announcement came a day after two more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Pakistan, taking the total number of infections in the country to four.
The border at Chaman in Balochistan will remain closed for seven days from March 2 “in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus on both sides of the border in the best interest of the people of the brotherly countries”, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior.
“During the period, necessary measures will be taken to safeguard the health of the people of both countries,” it said.
The authorities have shut schools in the southern province of Sindh, including in Karachi where the first case was reported, and the southwestern province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran, The Express Tribune reported.