As part of efforts to combat coronavirus, automated thermal scanners have been installed at four airports of the country.

The scanners at Karachi, Lahore Islamabad and Peshawar airports will help authorities identify possible coronavirus infectees from among the more than 600,000 passengers arriving in Pakistan by international flights.

These machines will not only enhance the capability of the health staff deployed at the airports to identify possible coronavirus cases but also speed up the scanning process.

The first scanner was installed at Islamabad International Airport. Later, the Jinnah International Airport Karachi, Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore and Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar also got these machines.

Authorities had imported five state-of-the-art scanners, four of which have been installed at the airports while one has been kept as a standby.

Passengers, as well as crews of all international flights, are scanned. Those showing virus symptoms are quarantined and shifted to public hospitals for treatment.