ISLAMABAD: Pakistan extended the closure of its border with Afghanistan at the Chaman crossing point in Balochistan province for another seven days amid fears the coronavirus epidemic could spread from the neighboring country.
The Ministry of Interior said in a notification issued Monday that the closure was a measure necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus on both sides of the border in the “best interest of the people of both brotherly countries.”
Pakistan initially closed the border at Chaman for a preliminary one-week period on March 2.
The measure comes after dozens of suspected coronavirus cases were reported in Afghanistan in recent days, and fears that the war-torn country’s health infrastructure is unequipped to deal with a major outbreak.
The Afghan Ministry of Health confirmed it has recorded five coronavirus infections in the country as of Tuesday.
In Pakistan, 16 cases have been reported.
On Sunday, Pakistan reopened its land border with Iran, after a two-week closure. Isolation units have been set up in the southwestern province of Balochistan to screen people returning from the neighboring country. Those testing positive for the virus are then placed under quarantine for a period of two weeks.
Iran is one of the worst-hit countries with the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside of China.
