Pakistan on Saturday began a nine-day shutdown affecting travel and tourist hotspots in a bid to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Fitr. Eid, which comes at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, usually sees the mass movement of people around the country and tourist spots crowded with Pakistanis. Last year the country saw a spike in cases in the weeks after the celebrations. Mosques, however, which have been packed each night throughout Ramadan - with few people wearing masks - will remain open. International flights have been slashed and border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan closed, except for trade.

Source: The Nation May 08, 2021 08:03 UTC