THE INDIAN High Commission (IHC) has clarified that an official’s wife tested negative for Covid on an RT-PCR test conducted in Lahore.
It was reported yesterday (24) that 12 High Commission officials were asked to quarantine along with their families and drivers as an official’s wife tested positive.
But the High Commission has denied the news.
On Monday (24) it said on Twitter, “In response to media reports that the spouse of an official of the Indian High Commission tested + for Covid on RAT, it is clarified that said individual has tested NEGATIVE for Covid on RT-PCR, conducted on arrival in Islamabad. RT-PCR in Lahore, as per reports, was also NEGATIVE.”
The High Commission officials and their family members crossed over to Pakistan through the Wagah Border on Saturday (22), Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Sunday (23).
All 12 passengers carried negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 reports, but they were re-tested in line with the laid down Covid-19 safety protocols in Pakistan.
“The wife of an official tested positive on a rapid antigen test conducted by Pakistani health officials,” the spokesperson said.
It was also reported that Pakistan’s top body on the pandemic, the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC), reviewed the case and advised all 12 officials, their family members and drivers to undergo the mandatory quarantine.
The Express Tribune newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying that as per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) agreed between the two countries, if a member of the diplomatic staff or their associates tested positive for Covid-19, they will be quarantined in the same country instead of being sent back.
“Pakistani authorities have acted in accordance with the law,” they added.
The investigation has identified Pankaj Lamba as the prime suspect. (Photo: Northamptonshire Police)
From L- Jasvir Singh, MPs Diedre Costigan, Catherine West, Sarah Coombs , Kanishka Narayan, Cllr Sunny Brar and Vidhya Alakeson during the event.