Pakistan government has just introduced a new mobile app, called PakPass, for people traveling to the country. The government-designed app, which focuses on the guidelines and Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) regarding COVID-19, specifically for foreign travelers. People traveling to Pakistan are required to download the PakPass app.
Govt Launches PakPass App For Passengers Traveling To Pakistan
In a way to prevent further spread of coronavirus, the Pakistan government thought of a tech-based innovative idea, which will help the country to acquire information of tested people traveling from other countries.
With the PakPass app, foreign nationals and native citizens traveling to Pakistan will now be able to observe all the SOPs regarding COVID-19, laid down by various health authorities.
According to the government, it’s now compulsory for every passenger to download the PakPass app. Not just that, they must also follow the SOPs, as provided by the application.
Furthermore, the department of Air Transport, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also sent out instructions, regarding the new development, to airline management.
According to the instruction, all airline management must instruct their passengers via email to download and follow the SOPs on the PakPass app. And at check-in, they also have to confirm the existence of the app on passengers’ phones. CAA instructed that airline management must print the link of the PakPass app on passenger’s boarding pass.
The department further added that the reason for that is to ensure that Pakistan is able to track passengers traveling to the country, during their 14-day quarantine. The app will be responsible for acquiring all information about coronavirus testing and home isolation processes. According to the instructions by CAA, there’ll be a strict penalty against any passenger that fails to follow the SOPs on the app.
But what happens if a passenger doesn’t have a smartphone to download the PakPass app?
The Authority said if a family is traveling, one of them can download the app for everybody to use. However, if a passenger is alone without a smartphone, there’ll be strict procedures for him/her, at the airport.
More Information
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Pakistan government has begun the slow relaxation of lockdowns and the opening of its borders to some countries.
Recall that the government locked the country’s border with Iran at Taftan on March 17. The decision came after the outbreak of the virus in the country. A couple of weeks back, the country reopened the border to begin all trading activities. Also, the country has resumed international flight operations, to the rest of the world.
So, with the country’s decision to reopen International flights, the PakPass app will help the country in mitigating the spread of the deadly virus.
Talking of the country’s coronavirus cases so far, the country had a total of 2,827 new cases yesterday. With that, Pakistan now has a total number of 213,470 coronavirus cases, with 4,395 deaths, and 100,802 recovered cases.
UPDATE: The developer has removed the app from Google Play. The Pakpass app for iOS is not available to download from the App Store either.
PakPass app website says, “Our team is working on enhancements to launch the PakPass app soon”. So you should wait to download the Android and iPhone app from here when it’s officially launched.
This article has been updated with the latest information on 13 July 2020.
