Dhaka, April 1 (IANS) Bangladesh has imposed a temporary ban on travellers from Europe and 12 other countries after reporting a surge in coronavirus infections.

The two-week ban will come into effect on Saturday and last until April 18, dpa news agency reported on Friday citing a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) as saying.

CAAB said air passengers from the UK, where infection rates are generally lower than on mainland Europe, would still be allowed to enter the country.

Along with European nations, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, and Uruguay are also among the banned nations.

Airlines operating scheduled passenger flights from all those countries will be allowed to carry only transit passengers.

Passengers from other countries must still adhere to a 14-day home quarantine.

Bangladesh has so far reported 611,295 coronavirus cases, with 9,046 deaths since the South Asian country registered the first cases in March 2020.

With many flouting the current health guidelines, the government on Tuesday issued a new set of rules, including the mandatory use of face masks and limiting passengers on local transport.

The country reported a single-day record number of infections, 5,358, on Wednesday.

--IANS ksk/