Pakistan bans Africa, South America arrivals as new virus variants spread

People gather to receive arriving passengers at the international arrival area of the Islamabad International Airport in Pakistan on February 3, 2020. (AFP/File)

• Inbound travel ban will be effective from Tuesday until April 2
• COVID-19 variants found in Brazil and South Africa are believed to be more transmissible

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has banned entry to travelers from 12 countries in Africa and South America to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The move, which will be effective from Tuesday, comes as Pakistan is observing a surge in COVID-19 infections, while new coronavirus variants originally found in Brazil and South Africa are believed to be more transmissible. Concerns have also been raised worldwide that vaccines may not be quite as effective against the new virus strains.
“The temporary measure is being introduced in continuation to the steps being taken to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Pakistan,” the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a notification issued on Saturday, as it announced a revised country list.
Travelers from Botswana, Brazil, Columbia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia can no longer enter Pakistan, even if they have Pakistani passports or are Pakistan Origin Card holders.
The ban will be in place at least until April 2.
Inbound travel from 20 countries is allowed, with passengers not required to undertake COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test before entering Pakistan.
The countries are: Australia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago and Vietnam.
Passengers from all other countries need to hold negative COVID-19 PCR test results issued not later than 72 hours before their arrival in Pakistan.