Pakistan banned domestic air travel for anyone without a Covid-19 vaccine certificate from August.1 and will require all public sector workers to get vaccinated by August 31, the government announced on Thursday along with a host of other restrictions as the country recorded its highest daily coronavirus infections in more than three months amid a fourth wave of the pandemic.
From August 1, unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to enter government offices, schools, restaurants, and shopping malls said Asad Umar, local media reported. Umar, who heads National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), a military-run body that oversees the pandemic response, said the ban at a joint news conference with the health minister in Islamabad.
Later, Umar posted a statement on Twitter that said “From August 1, a Corona Vaccination Certificate is required for inland air travel. Get yourself vaccinated by July 31 and get a vaccination certificate to save yourself the trouble.”
Teachers and students above 18, public transport, and retail staff will also be required to get vaccinated by the end of August, they said.
Pakistan has seen coronavirus infections soar, dominated by Delta variant, and its poor health infrastructure is under extreme pressure.
“Restriction is for domestic air travel and people traveling from Pakistan to abroad or from abroad to Pakistan are exempted from the restriction. It is also not applicable on link flights if these are within 72 hours of arrival or departure,” local media reported citing a statement released by the country’s National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 23,422 of which 62 died in the last 24 hours.
Vaccine administered across Pakistan on 31 July: 934,717 where total vaccine administered till now: 30,590,183.
The travel restrictions have been imposed to encourage people to get vaccinated, a Health Ministry official said. He said vaccine hesitancy was still an issue the authorities were struggling to deal with.
A surge of new coronavirus infections that is dominated by the Delta variant is once again putting pressure on the country’s weak health care system.
Authorities have also asked public servants, teachers, and students above 18 to get vaccinated by the end of August.
(With inputs from agencies)
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