ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central body responsible for supervising the country’s pandemic response recommended on Friday that people without a COVID-19 vaccination certificate should not be allowed to travel by air starting next month.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) reached the decision in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus infections that have triggered a fear of an impending fourth wave of the pandemic.

The center’s decisions require approval of Pakistan’s federal authorities.

The country’s planning minister Asad Umar also reminded people in a Twitter post on Friday that Pakistan’s artificial intelligence models had indicated another uptick in COVID-19 cases, adding that there were “clear early signs of 4th wave starting.”

The NCOC also maintained that students over 18 would be required to get themselves inoculated by August 31. It is also expected to issue new guidelines ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid Al-Adha in the coming days, though it has already made proof of vaccination a requirement for hotel bookings and travel for tourists inside the country.

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged people to take precautionary measures to keep the infectious disease under control.

“Our cases were going down, but they have started rising once again,” he said in a short video message that was posted on social media. “We are concerned that the Indian variant [of the virus] can also come to Pakistan since it has been detected in Afghanistan and there are chances that people in this country can also contract it.”

He told people that the country could avoid a fourth wave of the pandemic if everyone continued to wear face masks at public places.

Pakistan reported 1,828 confirmed coronavirus cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The country conducted 48,134 tests during the same period and had a positivity ratio of 3.79 percent.