Oman suspends travel from 24 countries, including Pakistan, India

Indian nationals check in at the Muscat International Airport on May 9, 2020. (AFP)

• Flight curbs introduced until further notice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus into Sultanate’s borders
• All countries on the list are currently tackling outbreaks caused by highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: Oman on Thursday suspended until further notice air travel from 24 countries, including Pakistan and India, the Sultanate’s pandemic response body said. 
The other countries in the list are India, Bangladesh, Ghana, Tunisia, Lebanon, Brunei, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Sudan, Iraq, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Colombia, Nigeria, Libya.
The flight curbs have been introduced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus into the country’s borders, as all of the countries on the list are currently tackling outbreaks caused by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
“Arrivals to the Sultanate from 24 countries have been suspended until further notice in order to preserve the safety of everyone and prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” the Gulf state’s coronavirus task force tweeted.
The country of 5 million has reported 1,824 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 278,560 with 3,339 deaths.
Nearly 40 percent of Oman’s population are expatriates, coming mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and other countries on the travel ban list.