Following widespread Coronavirus outbreak in China, India on Sunday temporarily suspended e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in China. According to Embassy of India in China, travel to India on e-visas stands temporarily suspended with immediate effect due to certain current developments.
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“Due to certain current developments, travel to India on e-visas stands temporarily suspended with immediate effect,” the Indian Embassy announced here.
The Indian embassy further added that e-visa restrictions are applicable to holders of Chinese passports and applicants of other nationalities residing in the People’s Republic of China. Holders of already issued e-visas may note that these are no longer valid, the announcement said.
“All those who have a compelling reason to visit India may contact the Embassy of India in Beijing or the Indian consulates in Shanghai or Guangzhou, as well as the Indian Visa Application Centres in these cities,” it said.
These preventive measures are being taken after two Indians from Kerala were reportedly found carrying Coronavirus. The two people from Kerala had recently visited China, from where they are suspected to have carried the deadly virus.
The Indian government has been extremely proactive in handling the ongoing Coronavirus crisis and has taken effective steps to evacuate Indian citizens who were trapped in China following the global crisis.
The Indian government had sent Air India jumbo B747 to China to evacuate citizens. The Air India flight made two flights to Wuhan city – the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. In the first flight on early Saturday, 324 Indians were evacuated and on Sunday another 323 Indians and seven Maldivian citizens were flown back.
Meanwhile, death toll in China because of coronavirus epidemic has risen to 304 and about 14,380 people have reportedly been infected with this virus in mainland China while 160 have reportedly been infected in rest of the world. As of now almost 20,000 suspected coronavirus cases have been reported from China.