Dec 14, 2021: The National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) on Tuesday announced that all Pakistanis stranded in Category C countries, including Overseas Pakistanis,who have valid National Identity Card (NICOP) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC) will be allowed to return to Pakistan without exception until December 31.

According to the NCOC, which serves as the nerve center of the government’s anti-quad strategy, travelers traveling from Category C countries are required to submit proof of vaccination and a negative PCR test will be required. The center said in a statement that if they are traveling from countries that have been exposed to the Omicron type of Covid 19, they will be placed under mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

The NCOC added that since vaccinations of ages 15 to 18 have not begun in some countries, the requirement for the submission of full vaccination of in-bound passengers between these ages has been extended till January 31, 2022, instead of December 1^st, 2021.

Last week, the NCOC announced further travel bans in the wake of the Omicron variant of the corona virus, which added eight more countries, mostly Europeans, to Category C, banning inbound travelers.

With the latest expansion, the number of countries in Category C has increased from seven to 15. The list includes the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland, South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Iswatini, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The NCOC said in a statement that there would be a complete ban on passengers coming to Pakistan from Category C countries. They added that only ‘necessary’ travel from these countries would be possible, subject to the special committee’s certificate of immunity.

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