Kuwait on Monday suspended direct commercial flights from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka until further notice.

Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (ODGCA)  in a statement said the residents of these countries must spend 14 days in another country before heading to Kuwait.

However, the decision taken by the Gulf state's cabinet does not restrict cargo flights from entering the country.

To enter Kuwait from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, the statement said.

Kuwait last week would ban citizens who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 from travelling abroad from May 22. 

The decision has come in line with instructions by the Kuwaiti health authorities, considering the contagion status in such high-hazard countries.

Earlier, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday announced that it will bar entry to all travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday (May 12), in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

#NCEMA and Civil Aviation: Suspension of entry for travelers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka on national and foreign flights, also for transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights traveling to UAE and bound for these countries.https://t.co/Dhjg6dhPrp pic.twitter.com/bkPgdWexmM

— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) May 10, 2021

On the official Twitter handle, UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and Civil Aviation (NCEMA) wrote, "Suspension of entry for travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka on national and foreign flights, also for transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights travelling to UAE and bound for these countries."

Gulf state's NCEMA further added that flights between the four countries will continue to allow the transport of passengers from the UAE to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

However, UAE citizens, long-term residency holders also known as golden visa holders and diplomats are not included in the ban.

The ban came just ahead of the Eid-Ul-Fitr.

To enter the UAE from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, NCEMA said.

Earlier in April, UAE banned entry to travellers from India over its concerns regarding the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.