Pakistan
Pakistan bans flights from 38 countries to curb COVID-19 spread
Karachi: Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has extended a travel ban on passengers from 38 countries that are categorized as ‘C’, starting today.
Category ‘C’ countries are those whose nationals are not allowed to enter in Pakistan and include India, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Bangladesh, Brazil and Zimbabwe.
Reportedly, international travellers from any country are required to possess valid negative PCR test certification conducted 72 hours prior to commencement of travel to Pakistan.
The ban on inbound travellers will remain till further order.
Moreover, all inbound passengers will have to go through Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on arrival at all airports.
Pakistan ban also applies on charter and private aircrafts, with effect from May 26.
Pakistan had introduced stricter travel bans on these countries for inbound travellers amid rise in Covid-19 cases involving new variants.
The CAA, earlier had extended travel restrictions till March 20 and then on April 30. In a bid to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is presently experiencing the third wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than previous two waves.
According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 2,724 cases of coronavirus were reported while 65 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 20,465.
The total number of confirmed cases reached 908,576.
As many as 827, 843 patients have recovered from the disease with 4,243 critical cases.