ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries in a bid to curb the spike of coronavirus cases as the country on Sunday recorded 3,667 new cases.
The aviation regulator notified a fresh list of countries categorised into A, B and C after the emergence of the South African and Brazilian strains of the disease and imposed a complete ban on travel from 12 countries, categorised as C.
— PCAAOfficial (@official_pcaa) March 21, 2021
The travel restrictions and a ban on inbound passengers from 12 countries will remain effective from March 23 (Wednesday) to April 5.
Botswana, Brazil, Columbia, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia have been placed in category C.
The PCAA, in its notification, said that there will be a complete travel ban on inbound travel to Pakistan from category C countries, including withdrawal of exemptions earlier provided to certain categories of travellers like Pakistani passport holders.
The temporary measure is being introduced in continuation to the steps being taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country, it said.
The regulator also updated its category C, for inbound travellers and shifted the United Kingdom (UK) from category C to category B.
The CAA said that the international travellers from category A countries do not require Covid-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test before entry into Pakistan.
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 have been placed in the category A.
The international travellers from countries not specified in category A require a Covid-19 test before commencement of travel to Pakistan.
The notification said that all countries which are not specified in A and C fall in category B.
