Pakistan bans travelers from 26 nations amid COVID-19 pandemic 

The National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC) has revised the inbound air/land travel categories placing strict restrictions on travellers from 26 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia, Bolivia and others by placing them in “C” category, reports Gulf News.

According to the Ministry of the National Health Services (NHS), Pakistan introduced three categories “A,” “B,” and “C” to deal with potential carriers of COVID-19 coming into Pakistan from abroad, reports the newspaper.

According to the revised travel advisory, ban on passengers’ entry from “C” category countries will remain effective until further order and will only be allowed subject to exemption by committee as per procedure, the newspaper reported.

The passengers belonging to the A category countries are exempted from the mandatory COVID-19 test while those from areas in B category require a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test that must be taken within 72 hours of the travel date while countries in C category are restricted and people can travel only under specific NCOC guidelines, reports Gulf News.

Iran, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Tunisia, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay are the nations falling in the C category.

Pakistan has witnessed several COVID-19 pandemic waves.