Pakistan will ban air travel for anyone without a Covid-19 vaccine certificate from August 1 and will require all public sector workers to get vaccinated by August 31, the government announced on Thursday along with a host of other restrictions.
From August 1, unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to enter government offices, schools, restaurants and shopping malls, said Asad Umar, who heads National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), a military-run body that oversees the pandemic response, at a joint news conference with the health minister in Islamabad.
Teachers and students above 18, public transport and retail staff will also be required to get vaccinated by the end of August, they said.
Pakistan has seen coronavirus infections soar, dominated by Delta variant, and its poor health infrastructure is under extreme pressure.
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,190,383 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 611,801 deaths, followed by Brazil with 553,179, India with 422,662, Mexico with 239,616 and Peru with 196,138 fatalities.
Short of beds
On Thursday, Myanmar's main prison vaccinated over 600 inmates against Covid-19 on the first day of a drive to inoculate inmates, state media reported, as military authorities struggle to control a wave of infections across the country.
In Thailand, the health ministry sounded the alarm over Bangkok's dire lack of hospital beds and isolation facilities as Covid-19 cases and deaths soared to a new record.
In India, the southern state of Kerala announced a two-day lockdown as federal authorities planned to send experts to fight the spread of infections in the country's leading Covid-19 hotspot.
France lashes out
France says it fails to understand why it has been exempt from a new rule allowing fully-vaccinated European Union citizens to enter England without having to quarantine.
China spread
China reports small outbreaks driven by the Delta variant in three provinces as a cluster linked to an eastern airport spreads despite mass testing and a vaccination drive.
Sydney police call for military help
Police in Australia's largest city request military help to enforce a lockdown as infections in Sydney reach a new record.
Cambodia curbs
Cambodia imposes fresh restrictions for eight provinces bordering Thailand, clamping down on the movement of millions of residents to curb the spread of the Delta variant.
