India bans incoming international flights for a week over virus

Friday, 20 March 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NEW DELHI (AFP): All incoming international flights to India will be banned for one week starting Sunday, the government said Thursday as it announced the latest raft of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of a national address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi late Thursday, the government said in a statement that “no scheduled international commercial passenger aircraft shall be allowed to land in India from 22 March”.

All citizens above 65 and children under 10 were advised to “remain at home”.

States were also directed by the national government to enforce work from home policies in the private sector, apart from those in emergency or essential services.

Some government employees are set to stagger their shifts and alternate working in the office.

New Delhi has already suspended the visas of all incoming tourists and barred passengers of flights from the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Travellers from several countries are also subject to a 14-day quarantine when they arrive in India.

Most schools and entertainment facilities, including cinemas, have already been closed across India, the world’s second-most populous country with 1.3 billion people. The Taj Mahal and other monuments have been closed to visitors.

The Government says there have been 173 positive cases and four deaths from the virus.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary at the Health Ministry, said Thursday there was “no community transmission of the virus in the country”.