Pakistan

19 August 2020, There is an increase in the limit of refinancing provided to banks under the Exports Finance Scheme by PKR100 billion.

The State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP's) refinancing facilities: (i) 17 March 2020, Refinance Facility for Combating COVID-19 (RFCC) to support hospitals and medical centers to purchase equipment to detect, contain, and treat COVID-19 (3% end-user rate for 5 years). On 6 July 2020, the SBP enhanced the scope of the refinancing facility to support health facilities, now allowing manufacturers of protective gears and equipment, including items such as masks, dresses, testing kits, hospital beds, ventilators etc. to avail financing under RFCC. Moreover, to cope with the rising needs of the health facilities in general in the country, SBP has allowed even hospitals serving non-COVID-19 patients to avail this facility. Peak approved financing amounted to PKR17,789.79 million (1 July 2021), and program has ended; (ii) Temporary Economic Refinancing Facility (TERF) to stimulate investment in new manufacturing plants and machinery (7% for 10 years with a total size of PKR100 billion). On 8 May 2020, the SBP allowed financing for Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) and expansion under its Temporary Economic Relief Facility (TERF) to provide further stimulus to the economy in the context of COVID-19's impact on the economy, to support investment in the country for modernizing or expanding manufacturing/production units. Peak approved financing amounted to PKR543.248 billion (4 March 2021). The program ended, and thus no more updates after 1 April 2021; (iii) Refinance scheme (SBP Rozgar scheme) to support employment and prevent layoff of workers (to finance 3 months of wages; loan repayment will start from January 2021 and can be made in equal 24-month or 8-quarter installments). Under the Refinance scheme to support employment and prevent layoff of workers, SBP enhanced its refinance limits to finance up to 100% of wages and salaries of businesses with average 3-month wage bill of up to PKR500 million. On 30 June 2020, the SBP decided to extend the Rozgar scheme for another three months and, in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan, increased the risk coverage for SMEs under the scheme. As of 13 November 2020, approved financing amounted to PKR238.236 billion; (iv) 19 August 2020, To promote export-oriented investment, PKR90 billion has been allocated under the Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF).

(i) 10 June 2020, The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved an amount of PKR480.566 million to cover the risk allowance of health care workers performing duties related to COVID-19. This is already part of the fiscal stimulus package dated 24 March 2020; (ii) 2 December 2020, USD150 million was approved to buy COVID-19 vaccines, initially to cover the most vulnerable 5% of the population. 31 December 2020, Pakistan will purchase 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from China’s Sinopharm. 28 January 2021, The government announced that it would begin its COVID-19 vaccination drive in February. 30 January 2021, Pakistan secured 17 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX,a sharing scheme coordinated by the World Health Organization to suppport low-income countries. 18 January 2021, The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan approved for emergency use the COVID-19 vaccines of Oxford University-AstraZeneca and Sinopharm. 24 January 2021, Sputnik V is the third vaccine to be approved for the emergency use in the country. 12 February 2021, Pakistan approved China’s CanSino Biologics Inc.’s (CanSinoBIO) COVID-19 vaccine for emergency used, the fourth candidate authorized in the country. 18 February 2021, The government issued guidelines for private companies to set up centers to administer COVID-19 vaccines. 3 May 2021, The National Health Services reported that 150,000 vaccines are administered on daily basis. The goverment's target is to vaccinate 70 million by end of 2021. 12 May 2021, The government approves Zofin for compassionate use in COVID-19 patients. 17 May 2021, The country has administered more than 3.8 million vaccine doses since the shots began rolling out in February 2021. Nearly 1 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The government opened vaccine registration for those 30 and above from 16 May2021. 15 June 2021, Pakistan has lifted a rule barring the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people below the age of 40. As of 11 June 2021, 1.3% of Pakistan's 220 million people had been fully vaccinated and 3.8% had received at least one dose. 22 July 2021, 24.1 million total vaccine jabs have been administered across the country out of which 6.9 million are fully vaccinated. 20 September 2021, At least 24 million have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 3 October 2021, The government announced the start of vaccination of all 12-year and older youngsters, and that a dedicated vaccination drive would start at schools. 30 October 2021, According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 40 million people are fully vaccinated while more than 70 million are partially vaccinated [update]. 11 November 2021, Pakistan approved Sinovac for children above 12 years old [update]. ; (iii) 16 December 2020, PKR53.10 million for procurement of medical equipment, machinery, and medicines to combat COVID-19; (iv) No amount/estimate: 24 December 2020, The ECC approved the duty and tax free import of cryogenic oxygen tanks for better handling of COVID-19 situation; (v) 26 May 2021, The COVID-19 Response and Other Natural Calamities Control Program (Sindh Component) was approved at the total cost of PKR20,822.046 million. The Department of Health, Government of Sindh will be responsible for sponsoring and executing the Program. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2023; (vi) 31 May 2021, The ECC meeting was held to provide technical supplementary grant of approximately PKR20 billion to the National Disaster Management Fund to ensure timely procurement of Corona Vaccine for the effective national response to COVID-19 Pandemic. The funds will be utilized for the procurement of 10 million doses of the COVID vaccine during the month of June 2021; (vii) 2 June 2021: Three technical supplementary grants of PKR1.762 billion, PKR3.25 billion and PKR7.87 billion were approved for the Finance Division for providing funds to Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP) and Punjab Governments for strengthening hospitals and for effective response to COVID-19 and other natural calamities; (viii) 9 June 2021, The ECC expressed the government’s commitment to provide USD1.1 billion for procurement of COVID-19 Vaccine for achieving the vaccination target (minimum 45 million and maximum 65 million) until December 2021. The ECC in its meeting on 31 May 2021 had already approved USD130 million (equivalent to PKR20 billion) for procuring the vaccine for the month of June 2021. However, due to the increased target of vaccination by NCOC, another USD50 million was required in addition to the already approved amount for the month of June 2021. ECC also approved the additional funds of USD70 million for achieving the vaccination target for the month of June 2021; (ix) No amount/estimate: 22 June 2021, Pakistan has finalized a vaccine agreement to procure 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer; (x) 25 August 2021, The ECC approved a technical supplementary grant amounting to approximately PKR24,555 million to the National Disaster Management Authority for procurement of vaccine for COVID-19 including transportation and handling charges in order to meet the target of 85 million population to be vaccinated by the end of year 2021; (xi) 31 August 2021, The ECC also accorded approval for a Technical Supplementary Grant amounting to PKR50,100 million for extending rupee cover against financing by ADB of USD300 million for procurement of COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary goods and services.

(i) April 2020, Closed borders with neighboring countries, international travel restrictions, and varying levels of lockdown in cities and provinces across the country; (ii) 29 May 2020, The country resumes international flight operations; (iii) 14 December 2020, Passengers arriving in Pakistan are required to present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 96 hours prior to departure. There is a list of countries exempt from this which is updated every 2 weeks. All international air passengers travelling to Pakistan are subject to screening for COVID-19 symptoms on arrival; (iv) 29 December 2020: Pakistan officials extended entry ban for most passengers with a travel history to the UK through 4 January 2021; (v) 30 January 2021, Pakistan extended the travel restrictions on several countries, including the United Kingdom, till 28 February 2021 to contain the spread of the deadly variant of the coronavirus amidst a second wave of infections. 28 February 2021, Pakistan’s aviation authority extended the existing restrictions for all inbound travellers for another two weeks as the nation continues to witness a surge in the number of coronavirus cases; (vi) 5 April 2021, Travellers from 22 countries would not be allowed entry under the new rules, effective until 20 April 2021; (vii) 27 April 2021, New COVID-19 restrictions were imposed, which included a ban on inter-provincial transport to contain a further rise in COVID-10 cases during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. There was a complete ban on inter-provincial and inter-city transport during the Eid holidays, except for the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan, during 8–16 May 2021. Travel nodes leading to the tourist destinations, particularly the scenic valleys of Murree, Swat, and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, also remained closed during the said period; (viii) 2 May 2021, All international passengers would be required to undergo rapid antigen test and would also have to show an RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours before hoarding. Passengers with negative COVID test will undergo self-quarantine for 10 days and those found positive will be shifted to a self-paid facility. The country would also reduce the number of international flights into and out of its airports by 80%; (ix) 13 June 2021, Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has imposed tougher restrictions on passengers coming from India, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, and South Africa. In total, it placed stricter restrictions on travellers from 26 countries. The other countries include Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Tunisia, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay; (x) 3 August 2021, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) tightened restrictions for international travellers to Pakistan. All inbound passengers aged six years and above will be required to submit a negative PCR result conducted within 72 hours prior to their departure to Pakistan. Those who tested positive for Covid-19 between the age of six and 12 years will be home quarantined, while passengers aged over 12 years will be quarantined at a designated facility; (xi) 14 August 2021, Pakistan has lifted travel restrictions from 11 countries; (xii) 30 August 2021, The Civil Aviation Authority extended the restrictions imposed on inbound flights util 30 September 2021, as it continues the ban placed on countries in Category C; (xii) 3 October 2021, The National Command and Operation Center imposed a ban on unvaccinated people in boarding domestic and international flights.