Foreign Office suspends walk-in consular services due to coronavirus

Foreign Office on Tuesday announced the suspension of all walk-in consular services from March 18 till April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

FO spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, in a tweet said the decision has been taken to deal with the rising threat of Covid-19. She, however, clarified that the attestation of power of attorney will not be suspended in this time period.

"Facility of attestation would be continued through courier companies i.e. Pakistan Post, Gerry’s, Leopard & TCS," said Farooqui

The spokesperson also announced that the foreign ministry has established a special cell for coordination on coronavirus to liaise with diplomatic corps in Pakistan and Pakistani missions abroad.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 188 in Pakistan after five more cases were reported in the country. 

Most of the cases were reported from Sindh, with the tally rising to 150 on Monday and 119 people testing positive for the virus in Sukkur.

Globally, 158 countries have been affected, more than 6,500 people have died and more than 170,000 infected by the disease called 'COVID-19' as it spreads rapidly to new territories.

The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted to Europe, which is recording a rapid rise in new cases every day.