China temporarily bans Pakistani citizens over COVID-19 concerns, PIA operations halted

China on Friday imposed a temporary travel ban on Pakistani citizens due to COVID-19 concerns. According to reports, 10 Pakistani citizens, who had left the country with negative test results, tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in China on Thursday. The positive results of the 10 passengers prompted China to place Pakistan on the temporary travel ban list. China has also suspended Pakistan International Airline (PIA) from operating flights in the country. 

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A spokesperson of the airline on Friday confirmed that China has temporarily suspended PIA flights from operating in the country for three weeks after 10 Pakistani passengers tested positive for COVID-19. The COVID-19-positive passengers had arrived in China via a PIA flight on Thursday. This comes amid several local cases of COVID-19 are emerging in China after not reporting daily infections for months. 

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Rising cases in China

As per reports, China recorded 144 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, which was its highest single-day rise in months. China has reportedly imposed restrictions in Hebei province, after the region recorded at least 90 locally transmitted cases yesterday. China has also banned large gatherings, including sporting events in the region to prevent the spread of the disease. China has recorded a little more than 87,000 cases to date and 4,635 deaths, which significantly less for a country where the disease is believed to have emerged later in 2019.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan has recorded more than 5,14,000 infections and over 10,000 deaths since the first COVID-19 case emerged in the country earlier last year. Experts believe that the cases in the country are way more than what is being reported because the country has allegedly failed to conduct large scale testing of its population.   

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(With inputs from ANI)