Cairo: Jordan has suspended passenger flights from India, becoming the latest country to take this step over a dramatic surge of COVID-19 infections in India.
The move bans the entry of travellers from India who have not spent at least two weeks outside the South Asian country, an official said.
The new measures aim to prevent a new coronavirus strain that has spread rapidly in India from transmitting to Jordan, the country’s Transport Minister Wajih Azaizeh said in TV remarks.
“The decision has come in view of the epidemiological developments in India and reports about a new mutation of the coronavirus, a matter that requires additional precautionary measures with the aim of keeping the epidemiological situation stable in the kingdom,” he added.
The official Jordanian news agency Petra quoted Azaizeh as saying that the ban is open-ended until the epidemiological scene becomes stable in India.
Jordan has recently seen a spike in coronavirus infections, prompting authorities to extend a nighttime curfew until mid-May. A full curfew is enforced on Fridays.
Azaizeh said that the continuation of the India ban will depend on information provided by the Jordanian national epidemic committees on the health situation there.
Jordan makes it mandatory for arrivals to show a negative result of PCR testing done at most 72 hours before arrival.
The UAE, Oman and Kuwait have also banned flights with India amid concerns over the surge of the virus cases there.