DHAKA: The east Indian country Bangladesh has imposed a temporary ban on travellers from Europe and a dozen other countries after reporting a surge in COVID-19 infections.

A fortnight-long ban will come into effect on Saturday and will close on April 18, as per the statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). It said air passengers from the UK, where infection rates are generally lower than on mainland Europe, would still be allowed to enter the country.

Along with European nations, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, and Uruguay are also among the banned nations.

Airlines operating scheduled passenger flights from all those countries will be allowed to carry only transit passengers. Passengers from other countries must still adhere to a 14-day home quarantine.

Meantime, Bangladesh has thus far reported 611,295 coronavirus cases, with 9,046 deaths since the South Asian country registered the first cases in March 2020. With many flouting the current health guidelines, the government on Tuesday issued a new set of rules, including the mandatory use of face masks and limiting passengers on local transport. The country reported a single-day record number of infections, 5,358, on Wednesday.

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