Portugal has extended its ban on non-essential flights from countries highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic until May 16.

The ban extension announced on Saturday will now also cover India, whose spike in new infections and fatalities has catapulted it to become the current epicenter of the outbreak.

Other countries affected by the ban include South Africa, Netherlands, France and Brazil.

Travelers from those countries can only enter Portugal if they give a valid reason, such as for work or healthcare.

The government also noted that people from countries where the incidence rate is 150 or more COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, such as Spain and Germany, can also travel by plane to the country only for essential reasons.

The travelers will be required to produce negative results from COVID-19 tests conducted within 72 hours prior to departure.

By Saturday, Portugal had reported 836,493 COVID-19 infections with 16,974 deaths, according to figures from the Johns Hopkins University.

(With input from Reuters)