Highlights
- India extends travel ban to three more countries
- The government prohibits the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines, and Malaysia
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India climbs to 125
The government on Tuesday prohibited the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines and Malaysia to India with immediate effect.
According to the additional travel advisory, “No flight shall take off from these countries to India after 1500 hours Indian Standard Time (IST).”
The statement from the health ministry ordered the airports to enforce the order at the port of initial departure.
The announcement comes as the confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jump to 125, a number which health experts believe is likely to swell in the coming days, as many suspected infected persons are reportedly violating mandatory quarantine orders or are escaping from isolated hospital wards.
The government in the western Indian state of Maharashtra which has so far reported the highest number of confirmed cases in the country has now started stamping individuals confined to isolation at home to control the infection and instill a "sense of responsibility" in the residents.
“Those who require self-quarantine but don’t want to stay in hospital or hotels and want to go home, they should have a sense of responsibility. They should not roam around freely. They should follow quarantine strictly,” Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray told Indian media.
In addition, the Indian government on Monday also banned flyers from European Union countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18. The order further stated that passengers coming or transiting through the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait would have to undergo compulsory quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days.
As of now, all the above developments will stay in place until March 31.
These travel advisories are in addition to the one issued on March 11 that banned all foreign nationals from entering the country till April 15. This also included the OCI cardholders and the ones who held a valid visa.
In addition, the authorities also advised Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to coronavirus affected countries.
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The only people excluded from the travel ban were diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment and project visa holders.
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