ISLAMABAD—— Pakistan’s national body to control coronavirus decided Sunday to temporarily restrict the country’s borders to people from Afghanistan and Iran. Inbound pedestrian movement from those two countries will halt from midnight May 4 until May 20, except for Pakistani citizens in Afghanistan and Iran who want to return home and have extreme medical emergency cases.
The development comes after Pakistan reported another 113 deaths and 4,414 new cases amid the third wave of the virus, taking the country’s death tally to 18,070.
Authorities said the decision aimed to limit the spread of new COVID-19 variants. It said border terminals with both countries would remain open seven days a week with increased health staff, and there will be no restrictions on outbound passengers or cargo movement.
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
– India’s leader weakened by coronavirus crisis as nation sets record for daily cases
– Olympic torch relay detour; diving test event opens in Tokyo
– Las Vegas hitting the jackpot with the return of pandemic-weary visitors
Puerto Rico staggers under the latest surge of the virus
– ‘London to Delhi’ stationary biking raises cash for India’s virus crisis
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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine.
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
NEW DELHI – Preliminary voting trends released by India’s electoral body on Sunday indicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party failed to make gains in four recent state elections, a sign his political strength may be slipping as the country struggles to contain an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases.
Health experts say the massive electoral rallies and marches held as voters cast their ballots in March and April are partly to blame for the subsequent spike in COVID-19 infections.
Public anger for allowing the elections to go forward despite the risk has been directed at Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Independent Election Commission. The commission will release the final voting results later Sunday. After disappointing results, Modi stands weakened but faces no threats to remain, prime minister, until his term ends in 2024.
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SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory.
Now, a spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes, and a prolonged financial crisis.
“The difficulty here is how do you find a Solomonic decision … to give people the opportunity to work and be responsible and also maintain health as a priority,” said Ramón Leal, former president of Puerto Rico’s Restaurant Association. “These are hard conversations.”
It’s a delicate balance for an island that imposed a lockdown and mask mandates ahead of any U.S. state and has some of the strictest entry requirements of any American jurisdiction. Overall, the land of 3.3 million people has reported more than 115,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,000 deaths.
