New Covid-19 strain: Pakistan bans travellers from India amid variant spread

A statement issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday said the decision was taken during a meeting of the forum today, presided over by Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Dawn reported.

The forum was briefed about the spread of the new Indian variant of the coronavirus — a double-mutant variant — which was considered responsible for the recent surge in infections in the neighbouring country.

"The forum decided to place India in the list of Category C countries for two weeks. There will be a ban on inbound passengers coming from India via air and land route," the statement said.

The forum will carry out a review of countries placed in Category C on April 21 in view of the presence of the Indian variant in other countries, the statement added.

India's daily Covid-19 cases jumped by a record 273,810 on Monday as the health system crumbled under the weight of patients.