Kuwait bars flights from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka

• The decision by the Gulf state's cabinet did not include cargo flights.
• To enter Kuwait from these countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand.
• Kuwait had said it would ban citizens who have not been vaccinated from travelling abroad from May 22.

Kuwait on Monday banned flights and barred entry to travellers from four countries — Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka — until further notice, state news agency KUNA said, as the emirate tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The decision by the Gulf state's cabinet did not include cargo flights.

To enter Kuwait from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, the statement said.

Kuwait last week it would ban citizens who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 from travelling abroad from May 22.

UAE to bar travellers from Pakistan

The development comes after the United Arab Emirates said it would bar entry to non-UAE resident travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday.

The UAE last month banned entry to travellers from India to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.

"Flights between the four countries will continue to allow the transport of passengers from the UAE to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka," the Gulf state's National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) said.

The ban includes transit flights coming from those countries. Transit flights to those countries can continue.

UAE citizens, long-term residency holders - known as "golden visa" holders - and diplomats are not included in the ban, which comes just ahead of the Eid festival celebrating the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

To enter the UAE from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, the NCEMA said.

However, cargo flights will continue to operate between the four countries.

The UAE civil aviation authority also called upon all travellers affected by the decision to contact the relevant airlines to reschedule their flights and ensure their safe return to their final destinations without delay.