Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has declared on Monday a temporary suspension on all incoming flights from the United Kingdom for at least a week on the premise of new COVID strain detection in England which is ‘more transmissible than other previously known strains’.
“Direct or indirect travel from the UK would be temporarily suspended, starting 11:59 PM on 22nd of December 2020,” the press release on the new development read. According to the notification, all travelers who are in or have been in the UK over the past 10 days will not be allowed entry into Pakistan. NCOC press statement declaring a temporary flight operations ban from UK while imposing conditions on Pakistanis returning and and those coming via a transit stay in the UK.
However, the press statement read that passengers in transit in the UK, who do not leave airside during the transit will be allowed entry in the country. According to the press release, preliminary analysis of new COVID strain suggests that this particular mutation is approximately 70 per cent more transmissible.
