Malawi government has banned with immediate effect travels to and from Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Pakistan following the severe spreading of the new COVID-19 wave in those countries.

Malawi Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, declared the ban Monday in an update on COVID-19 in the country.

Chiponda, who co-chairs the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, said the decision was arrived at following the current trend of the pandemic in the country compared to that of the four listed countries.

"To guard against the threat of importation and spread of the new variant from the Indian sub-continent in the country, the Taskforce has resolved to ban, with immediate effect, all - but essential arrivals and travel - from these three South-Eastern Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan," the minister said.

She said the travel restriction is also extended to Brazil where the new COVID-19 wave has also been devastating.

The minister advised that those undertaking essential travel to and from the named countries shall be required to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine at designated hotel accommodation at their own cost on arrival into the country.

She added that such travelers will be required to be in possession of a negative PCR-based COVID-19 test result or certificate for a test conducted no more than 72 hours before arrival in Malawi.

Malawi suffered the most during the second wave of the pandemic in January when the country recorded over 1,300 new cases in one day, the highest figure ever, but the prevalence rate began to drop drastically in March.