Iraq bans travel to 20 countries as new coronavirus variant spreads

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq's coronavirus crisis cell on Wednesday banned travel to 20 countries, as a new variant of the coronavirus takes hold worldwide. 

Travel to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, the UK, the USA, and Zambia has been banned, according to a statement from the crisis cell led by Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
 
The ban takes place with immediate effect.

Iraqi nationals will be able to return home from the listed countries, but should self-isolate for 14 days, according to the statement.

Foreign diplomats, official delegations, and the staff of foreign missions and internationals organizational from the 20 countries can enter Iraq if they do a PCR test less than 72 hours before their departure.

Iraq banned flights to eight countries last month in a bid to prevent the entry and spread of the new coronavirus variant. All the countries listed in the December flight ban were included in today’s statement, with the exception of Iran and the Netherlands.

Coronavirus case numbers in Iraq have fallen in recent weeks, and no new cases of the coronavirus variant have yet been confirmed. Iraq has recorded 605,416 coronavirus cases, including 562,575 recoveries and 12,915 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.