Pakistan bans flights from 12 African countries amid spike in Covid cases

According to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), there are three categories (A, B and C) in which countries are placed accordingly to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

The CAA placed 20 countries in A-category under which travelers do not require any polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to enter Pakistan.

These 20 countries, include South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Vietnam.

The ones in category 'B' require a Covid test which should be conducted within 72 hours before travelling to Pakistan. The CAA removed UK from category 'C' and added it to 'B'.

Meanwhile, 12 African countries placed in ‘C’ must obtain clearance from the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) before sending their flights to Pakistan.

These 12 countries, include South Africa, Peru, Kenya, Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda and Botswana.

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— PCAAOfficial (@official_pcaa) March 21, 2021

The new order will be applicable from March 23 to April 5, 2021.

Moreover, around 3,676 cases of coronavirus were reported while 44 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 13,799.