*Norway and Iran on Wednesday became the latest countries to haveintroduced travel restrictions on Pakistan, after United Kingdom, SaudiArabia, and Canada. The restrictions have been imposed out of fear of thedangerous Indian variant of coronavirus.*

“The rate of infections is very high in India, among other countries. Inorder to limit the risk of imported cases of new COVID-19 variants, we arenow introducing stricter entry restrictions for travelers arriving fromIndia and its neighboring countries, as well as Iraq,” Norway’s Justice andPublic Security Minister Monica Maeland said.

The new restrictions require travelers coming from India, Bangladesh, Iraq,Nepal, and Pakistan to stay at a quarantine hotel for seven days.

“This means that people who undertake necessary travel to these countrieswill also be required to stay at a quarantine hotel,” said the statement.

The measures will come into effect on Wednesday 28 April at 12pm.

*Iran closes borders with Pakistan*

In a separate development, Iran announced the closure of its borders withPakistan in fear of the new variant found in India, Fars News Agencyreported.

The newspaper quoted a statement of the Iranian customs office as saying:

“The Southeastern borders with Pakistan would only allow the return ofIranian and Pakistani nationals to their countries after the new ban isimposed on Wednesday.”

The Customs Office Spokesman, Rouhollah Latifi told media Iran willintroduce “hygiene controls” on trucks arriving from Pakistan for the next10 days.

He added that commercial trucks from Pakistan will undergo some strictchecks and controls before loading and unloading.

Iran had banned air travel from Pakistan and India amid fears that theIndian variant of the coronavirus could spread in the country.