Published 17:16 IST, March 8th 2020
Arunachal Pradesh curtails entry of foreigners amid Coronavirus outbreak
The Arunachal Pradesh government, on Sunday, decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PSPs) to foreigners to check the spread of virus.
- India News
- 2 min read
The Arunachal Pradesh government, on Sunday, decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PSPs) to foreigners to check the spread of coronavirus. As per the Foreigner (Protected Areas) Act, foreigners require a Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit those certain areas in India. This requirement is in addition to getting an Indian visa and foreigners require PAPs to enter the state that shares a border with China.
As per the officials, Naresh Kumar, Chief Secretary has directed all PAP using authorities to suspend the issue of permit till further orders.
As per the government order, "It is learned that COVID-19 positive cases have been detected in India and the number has been increasing. It is also learned that the spread of the Coronavirus in India is primarily from visitors who had a history of traveling abroad recently or through tourists who have visited India."
The order further added, "In order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Arunachal Pradesh, it has been decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permit (PAP)."
The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu tweeted, "Prevention is always better. To prevent the spread of Coronavirus in Arunachal, the Protected Area Permit (PAP) being issued to foreigners has been suspended. This is in view of the reported cases of virus being detected in our country through people coming from abroad."
The Arunachal Pradesh government announced the curtailments after the Sikkim government banned foreigner's entry. In an attempt to limit the impact of deadly Coronavirus worldwide, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan also shut its borders to foreign visitors.
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Updated 17:16 IST, March 8th 2020
