Coronavirus a pandemic: India shuts doors for outsiders, under self imposed quarantine

NEW DELHI: India imposed stringent travel curbs to the country as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic with more than 118,000 confirmed cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries. India’s count of infected people is 62 with no confirmed deaths so far from the disease.

The WHO had classified the coronavirus outbreak as a global public health emergency on January 30 and had been reluctant to call it a pandemic over concerns that it would create unnecessary panic.

The government late on Wednesday suspended “all existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment, project visas” until April 15. The visafree travel facility for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) holders has been suspended until the same date. The curbs go into effect at 1200 GMT on March 13 at the port of departure.

Visas Valid for Those Already in India
Any foreign national who needs to travel to India urgently will have to contact the nearest Indian mission. This includes holders of medical visas. Apart from this and in continuation with earlier advisories, the health ministry said a 14-day quarantine was mandatory for all travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain and Germany after February 15.

Incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, are advised to avoid non-essential travel and are informed that they can be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days on arrival. Indian nationals have also been advised to avoid all non-essential overseas travel, the health ministry said. On their return, they can be subjected to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days. International traffic through land borders will be restricted to designated check posts with robust screening facilities.

The decision followed a meeting by a group of ministers (GoM). This included health minister Harsh Vardhan, aviation minister Hardeep Puri and foreign minister S Jaishankar. A committee of secretaries chaired by the cabinet secretary had made detailed recommendations to the GoM.

The latest measures only refer to those traveling to the country, said an official. “The circular is only applicable for those coming into India. For those already in India, the existing visas are valid and normal rules for extension apply.”

The visa curbs will have an impact on flights to India, airline executives said, but it was too early to quantify.