Covid: Pakistan bans travellers from 12 countries as cases surge

Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority has restricted the entry of travellers from 12 countries as the third wave of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

The authority issued a revised list of countries categorised into A, B and C.

The new rules would be effective from March 23 to April 5.

“There will be a complete travel ban on inbound travel to Pakistan from category C countries, including withdrawal of exemptions earlier provided to Pakistani passport holders, NICOP holders and POC holders. The temporary measure is being introduced in continuation to the steps being taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Pakistan,” a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Authority said.

International travellers from Category A countries can travel to Pakistan and do not require a Covid-19 PCR test to enter the country.

Australia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Tajikistan, and Vietnam are part of Category A .

Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia have been placed in Category C.

All those countries not included in either Category A or C, fall in Category B. Passengers from all these countries require a Covid-19 PCR test before the commencement of travel to enter Pakistan, and it should not be more than 72 hours old.

The number of Covid-19 cases has reached 623,135 in Pakistan with 13,799 of them succumbing to the virus. The positivity rate has also increased from 2-3 per cent to nearly 10 per cent last week.