US lowers Covid-19 travel risk advisory for Pakistan, India

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered its Covid-19 travel risk advisory to “Level One: Low” for Pakistan, India, Japan, Liberia, Gambia and Mozambique after a drop in coronavirus infections in the six countries.

In August this year, the CDC had issued a “Level 2 Travel Health Notice” for Pakistan, indicating a moderate level of Covid-19 in the country.

Pakistan had recorded its all-time lowest Covid-19 positivity ratio on Saturday at 0.78 per cent and saw a considerable drop in the number of cases, last witnessed in August 2020.

The last time the country had reported cases below 231 was 14 months ago when 213 people got infected on Aug 30, 2020. Similarly, the positivity rate on Saturday was the lowest ever recorded since the relevant authorities started measuring infection rates in March last year.

On Tuesday, Pakistan recorded less than 300 coronavirus cases for the fourth day in a row, reporting 216 infections during the last 24 hours. The positivity ratio dropped even further to 0.63pc today.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 33,435 tests were conducted during this period. The total number of cases in the country has risen to 1,280,092. Meanwhile, the death toll stands at 28,618.

The CDC, in its latest advisory, also advised against travel to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Iceland because of a rising number of Covid-19 cases in those countries.

It raised its travel recommendation to “Level Four: Very High” for the three countries, telling Americans they should avoid travel there.