Japan extends ban on entry from 126 countries till August 31

The Japanese government has extended ban on entry for the visitors from 126 countries, including Bangladesh, till August 31. 

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam made the disclosure in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 

"We made Covid-19 tests mandatory for Bangladeshi citizens intending to travel abroad so that we can get the trust of the countries imposing travel restrictions," he wrote in the post.

Earlier, Japan banned flights from Bangladesh after it found some passengers carrying negative Covid-19 test reports as positive. 

In response to the growing number of Covid-19 infections worldwide, Japan expanded its entry ban to visitors as part of steps aimed at curtailing the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's coronavirus testing is questioned at the international level due to recent controversy over test accuracy and fake Covid-19 test reports by some government authorised hospitals.