London/Islamabad
Several countries closed their borders to Britain on Monday over fears of a highly infectious new coro-navirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages just days before the UK is set to leave the European Union (EU).
India, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Swe-den, Russia, Jordan and Hong Kong suspended travel for Britons after Prime Minister Boris John-son warned a mutated variant of the virus, up to 70% more transmissible, had been identified in the country. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman closed their borders completely.
Several other nations blocked travel from Britain over the weekend, including France, Germany, It-aly, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Belgium and Canada – although experts said the strain may al-ready be circulating in countries with less advanced detection methods than the United Kingdom.
Pakistan on Monday joined a slew of countries to close their borders to Britain over fears of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, heightening global panic and causing travel chaos.
A meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre placed a temporary restriction on inbound travellers from the UK (direct or indirect) to Pakistan that will come into effect on the midnight of December 22 (i.e. 00:00 hours Dec 23) and last until the midnight of Dec 29, according to a communique sent to the Civil Aviation Authority by the Aviation Division.
The restriction will apply to all persons who start their travel from the UK and are in or have been in the UK over the past 10 days, said the letter.
Transit passengers who do not leave the airside in the UK from destinations other than the UK will be allowed entry into Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani passport holders who have travelled to the UK on visitor/temporary visas will be allowed to return to the country with the following arrangements:
1) A negative PCR test, conducted within 72 hours prior to flight, will be required,
2) PCR test on arrival in Pakistan under arrangement with the Directorate of Central Health Establishment or regional health staff. Passengers will be required to stay in the airport or in a government facility until the PCR test is taken,
3) Mandatory enforced home quarantine for seven days,
4) Trace and test will be applied to all passengers who have arrived from the UK over the past seven days as well as passengers arriving on Dec 21 and Dec 22.
The NCOC also decided to make the ‘Pass Track’ app mandatory for all travellers arriving in Pakistan with effect from midnight Dec 22. Passengers without the app will need to fill out the web form of the Pass Track app.
A growing list of European Union nations and Canada barred travel from the United Kingdom on Sunday and others were considering similar action, in a bid to block the new strain of the coronavirus sweeping across southern England from spreading to their countries.
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Bulgaria all announced restrictions on UK travel, hours after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced
that Christmas shopping and gatherings in southern England must be cancelled because of rapidly spreading infections blamed on the new coronavirus variant.
Johnson immediately placed those regions under a strict new Tier 4 restriction level, upending Christmas plans for millions.
The Port of Dover tweeted on Sunday night that its ferry terminal was “closed to all accompanied traffic leaving the UK until further notice due to border restrictions in France.”
Eurostar passenger trains from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam were also halted.
Germany said all flights coming from Britain, except cargo flights, were no longer allowed to land starting midnight Sunday. It didn’t immediately say how long the flight ban would last. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said he was issuing a flight ban for 24 hours starting at midnight “out of precaution”.
On Sunday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock added to the alarm when he said “the new variant is out of control.” The UK recorded 35,928 further confirmed cases, around double the number from a week ago.
Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, called a special crisis meeting on Monday to coordinate the response to the virus news among the bloc’s 27 member states.
The Netherlands banned flights from the UK for at least the rest of the year. Ireland issued a 48-hour flight ban. Italy said it would block flights from the UK until Jan 6, and an order signed Sunday prohibits entry into Italy by anyone who has been in the UK in the last 14 days.
The Czech Republic imposed stricter quarantine measures on people arriving from Britain. Beyond Europe, Israel also said it was banning flights from Britain, Denmark and South Africa because those were the countries where the mutation is found.
Meanwhile, all Pakistan International Airline flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been suspended from Monday until further notice.
The development comes as the Saudi government temporarily suspends entry into the Kingdom after a new strain of the coronavirus was identified in the United Kingdom. The mutation is believed to be more contagious.
A PIA spokesperson said the national carrier suspended 18 flights to and from the Kingdom on Monday on the directives issued by the Saudi aviation authority. These include PK-9739 and PK-9760. The flight suspension will remain in effect until the Kingdom opens borders again, following which the passengers will be accommodated. The PIA spokesperson has asked effected passengers to register through the airline’s UAN 11-786-786 with their working phone numbers to receive timely updates.—Agencies
