Islamabad: Pakistan decided Monday to ban for two weeks travellers coming from India. This is due to the record surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in India. India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 1.50-crore mark with around 25 lakh cases being added in just 15 days.
Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) took the decision to impose a two-week ban on travel from India. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by its chief Asad Umar. He is also the Minister for Planning and Development, according to a statement released.
“The forum decided to place India in the list of ‘Category C’ countries for two weeks. There will be a ban on inbound passengers coming from India via air and land routes,” the statement read.
Other countries already listed in ‘Category C’ include South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Comoros, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, Seychelles, Somalia, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Last week, some 815 Sikh pilgrims reached Lahore from India to attend the Baisakhi festival. They have been permitted to stay for 10 days.
Earlier, the NCOC meeting was briefed about the new Indian variant of the coronavirus. It is known as a double-mutant variant, which has reportedly resulted in a spike in the number of infections in India.
The NCOC also announced to further review the ‘Category C’ April 21 to add any new country or remove any existing from the list, the statement said.
Already, 20 countries are in Category A and travellers from there do not require a COVID-19 test before entry into Pakistan. These are Australia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Trinidad & Tobago and Vietnam.
Pakistan’s coronavirus tally reached 761,437 after 5,152 new cases were detected Monday. The death toll reached 16,316 as 73 more people died in this period, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.
