Iraq is suspending travel to and from a number of countries over the spread of a novel strain of the coronavirus, the office of Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi said on Tuesday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd December, 2020) Iraq is suspending travel to and from a number of countries over the spread of a novel strain of the coronavirus, the office of Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the country's cabinet held a meeting, during which the issue of measures against COVID-19 was discussed.
"[The cabinet] introduces a ban on visiting the following countries: the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iran, Japan as well as any other that will subsequently be added to the list by the health ministry. The entry of passengers coming from these countries is banned, except for Iraqis," the office said in a statement after the meeting.
Iraqi citizens returning from the aforementioned countries will have to spend 14 days in quarantine.
The cabinet also decided to "close down all land border checkpoints except for emergencies."
Last week, the UK identified a new variant of the coronavirus that is 70 percent more transmissible than other SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. After media reports, many countries across the world shut their borders and halted travel to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the new strain is said to have been detected in other countries, including those from Iraq's list.
