Corona fallout: India bars entry of Chinese nationals

New Delhi: In a bid to prevent the spread of Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) in India, the government on Tuesday prohibited the entry of Chinese nationals into the country and cancelled all visas, including e-visas, issued to them.

Chinese delegations that were to travel to India to participate in two mega exhibitions — DefExpo 2020 and Auto Expo — starting this week, will also not be visiting due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

The Foreigners Regional Registration Office under the home ministry has issued orders to all airlines “not to take on board any passenger from China, including Chinese or other foreign nationals, who may be holding valid ETA-E-visa to board their aircraft for any destination in India.” Air India, which has suspended flights to major Chinese cities, on Tuesday announced suspension of its flights to Hong Kong after it reported its first death from the virus.

“It is clarified that existing visas are no longer valid. Intending visitors may contact the embassy in Beijing or the consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou to apply afresh for an Indian visa… All those who are already in India (with regular or e-visa) and had travelled from China after January 15 are requested to contact the hotline number of ministry of health and family welfare … Visa Section of the embassy/consulates of India in China can be contacted to ascertain the validity of visa before undertaking any visit to India,” the Indian embassy in China tweeted.

The Chinese government has reported 20,438 confirmed cases of the coronavirus so far and a death toll of 425. The virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Five people, who were among those evacuated from Wuhan and were being kept at an ITBP facility in Delhi, were shifted to Safdarjung Hospital as a “precautionary measure” after they showed basic symptoms like cough and sneezing and some had a medical history.

ITBP officials said that samples of all the people quarantined at the facility have been collected and are being sent to laboratories in AIIMS and Pune for further tests.

Five individuals, who were kept at the Army’s Base hospital after showing symptoms of cough and cold, have tested negative for coronavirus.

“The team of Army doctors and officers are interacting with the students on a regular basis to know their problems and keep them motivated. Residents are provided with TV facilities, carom and cards for indoor recreation,” an Army official said.

“Many of them are also playing volleyball. Laundry is set up in the camp itself with the complete set changed every second day. The linen is dipped in hypochlorite and then washed with hot water and dried in the sun. Rooms are fumigated with a strong, high-level disinfectant. Toilets are being cleaned and disinfected thrice a day with WHO-approved high level disinfectants,” he added.

The government has decided to use aerobridges at dedicated gates of seven international airports (Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Cochin, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai) to screen passengers from China, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong for nCoV to ensure effective prevention, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting held by health secretary Preeti Sudan to review the preparedness of states with the ministries or departments concerned on nCoV through video-conference.

India has so far reported three positive cases of nCoV from Kerala.

Ms Sudan said that screening of passengers was being done at all the 21 airports, international seaports and border crossings.

A total of 89,500 passengers of 777 planes have been screened so far at 21 airports, she said.

As many as 454 samples were tested, of which 451 were found to be negative and the remaining three positive, Ms Sudan said, adding that 3,935 passengers were under community surveillance in 29 states and Union Territories (UTs).

The Union health secretary reiterated that new visa restrictions and advisories were issued in view of the emerging scenario globally and asked the states to raise awareness on those.

The states bordering Nepal too are taking necessary measures and following up on the guidelines issued by the government on screening people and surveillance management.

The World Health Organisation said that the outbreak of the nCoV, which has spread from China to about two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a “pandemic”.