• More to come in future, says official
• Aviation regulator issues notices to airlines for sudden flight cancellation

ISLAMABAD / RAWALPINDI: Pakistan on Friday received 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine from the US, with a senior American official in the federal capital confirming that Washington would be sending more in future.

In another development, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) issued notices to some foreign airlines for causing inconvenience to passengers by the sudden cancellation of flights.

Charge d’ Affaires at the US embassy Angela P. Aggeler said the vaccines, which arrived at Islamabad International Airport, would save lives and help Pakistan emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, which had devastated so many families and communities in both countries.

“Together with the Pakistani government and our international partners, including Covax and Unicef, we will work to ensure that the vaccines are distributed as quickly and safely as possible,” she said.

When asked how many doses the US planned to provide Pakistan in 2021 and beyond, Ms Aggeler told Dawn that specific vaccines and the quantity of future donations would be determined after “we work through the logistic, regulatory and other parameters particular to each country”.

“We will move as expeditiously as possible while abiding by US and Pakistani regulations to facilitate safe and secure transport of vaccines. This takes time, but we continue to work together bilaterally, and with our international partners, throughout the process,” the American diplomat said.

The latest donation is part of the 80 million doses the US is sharing with the world, delivering on its pledge to facilitate equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines, which are essential for ending the Covid-19 pandemic, a press release issued by the US embassy said, adding that in addition to this bilateral donation, the US has committed $4 billion to Covax, a global initiative to support equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.

In May, Pakistan received 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines through the Covax initiative, and more are on the way.

“We appreciate the ongoing collaboration with the Pakistani government and our international partners to make this delivery and these goals a reality,” the US official said.

She said in order to save lives around the world, rebuild the global economy and stop the threat of new variants, “we must vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible”. As President Joe Biden has said, the United States will continue to do all it can to build a world that is safer and more secure against the threat of infectious disease, Ms Aggeler added.

Besides Friday’s vaccine donation, the US has provided nearly $50 million in Covid-19 assistance through its partnership with the Pakistani government.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we have worked together to improve infection prevention and control, enhance patient care, expand laboratory testing, disease monitoring and case tracking in all districts, and support frontline healthcare workers, the US charge d’ affaires said.

“We recognise that testing is a critical part of countering the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are working to provide additional testing kits to Pakistan in the near future,” she said, adding that “we have also provided critical personal protective equipment for Pakistan’s frontline healthcare workers, necessary emergency medical devices, such as fingertip oximeters, ventilators for healthcare facilities across the country and funding to procure other health-related supplies.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan reported 1,277 new coronavirus cases in a single day, taking the country’s Covid-19 tally to 959,685.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 46,941 tests were performed in the last 24 hours out of which results of 1,277 people came back positive.

The positivity rate was recorded at 2.72 per cent – a slight increase from the previous days – with the number of active cases calculated at 31,910.

On the other hand, the overall death toll climbed to 22,345 after 24 more people succumbed to the deadly virus while 1,110 patients recovered.

During the last 24 hours, Sindh reported 713 new coronavirus cases and 14 fatalities. The overall cases in the province since the outbreak of Covid-19 have risen to 338,370 while the casualty count has been calculated at 5,478. Around 630 people recovered overnight, taking the total recoveries to 313,366.

In Balochistan, 64 more people contracted the virus, with the overall provincial tally rising to 27,242. According to officials, no death was reported in the province. So far 309 patients have fallen prey to the deadly virus and 26,241 have recovered.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 111 new infections and four casualties in a single day. Positive cases in the province have increased to 138,179, with the death count climbing to 4,324.

Punjab saw another 153 people getting infected and six dying in the last 24 hours. The province’s infection tally has risen to 346,454 and the death toll to 10,761.

Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan collectively recorded 236 cases, with no fatality reported during this period, the NCOC data showed.

Notices issued to airlines

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has issued notices to Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Fly Dubai for cancelling their flights, leaving passengers stranded.

In a press release, a PCAA spokesman said it had been noticed with great concern that a large number of passengers, who were issued confirmed tickets, had been affected by the flight cancellations.

Such reservations should only have been made after confirmation of the lifting of restrictions, the press release said, adding that a substantial number of affected passengers have also suffered financial losses – whether hotel accommodation or living expenses – as they had planned their travel as per their reserved/confirmed departure date.

The aviation authority has directed the foreign airlines to accommodate the affected passengers in the earliest possible flights, the spokesman said.

It further said that hotel accommodation, as and when required by such passengers, should be provided, especially to those who did not have their own accommodation.

The airlines have also been asked to pay passengers who choose to get ticket refunds which should be 100pc of the amount paid to the airline in addition to the compensation for the damage suffered by them, the aviation authority said.

The PCAA also expressed its serious concern over the irresponsible statements of the airline representatives for putting the blame of flight cancellation on the aviation authority.

It may be mentioned here that the airlines made reservations without confirming whether restrictions on inbound international flight operation had been lifted.

The PCAA spokesman said the authority had directed the airlines to submit a compliance report of the same, failing which the aviation reserved the right to initiate regulatory action in the form of financial penalty, cancellation of one or more flights and revocation of scheduled authorisation against the airlines.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021