Dhaka: The Kingdom of Bahrain has announced to ban entry of travelers from Bangladesh and four other nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal from May 24.

The move follows Bahrain putting these five countries into its ‘red list,’ according to a circular issued by the country’s Civil Aviation Affairs authority on May 23.

Red list countries were modified based on an assessment made by the country’s National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (Covid-19).

“In line with Government Executive Committee directives and based on the recommendations of the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (Covid-19), the Civil Aviation Affairs, today (May 23) announced the suspension of entry for travelers arriving from red list countries, namely; India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, on all flights starting Monday, May 24, 2021,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Bahraini citizens and residency visa holders are not covered by the suspension, but will have to provide a PCR test before boarding a plane and quarantine for ten days upon arrival, reports added.

However, passengers arriving from the countries not included in the red list are exempted from quarantine and PCR tests if they are vaccinated and hold a Bahrain issued vaccination certificate or a certificate issued by a country whose vaccination certificate is approved by authorities in Bahrain.

Passengers with vaccination certificates issued by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, a member state of the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, or Singapore will also be exempted from quarantine rules.

Bahrain has recorded over 218,000 cases of coronavirus since the onset of the global pandemic, which has claimed the lives of 820 people across the kingdom.