China's 'temporary entry ban' not 'India-specific' but due to rising COVID cases: Govt

After China 'temporarily suspended' Indians' entry into China, government sources on Thursday said that the measure was not "India-specific" and changes can be expected in a timely manner. Sources clarified that the action is to temporarily suspend existing visas only, amid Chinese concerns on possible rise in COVID-19 cases globally due to winter. Government of India is in touch with the Chinese side to facilitate essential travel of Indians to and from China, as per sources.

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China temporarily suspends Indians' entry

Earlier in the day, Chinese Embassy in India, announced that it has temporarily suspended Indians' entry into China. Indians with valid Chinese visas or residence permits will not receive stamped Health Declaration Forms by the Chinese embassy in India. However, foreigners holding Chinese diplomatic, service, courtesy, and C visas are not affected and visas issued after November 3rd, 2020 too won't be affected. This move occurs ahead of India-China's 8th round of military talks over border tensions.

China temporarily suspends Indians' entry into China citing 'current COVID pandemic'

Apart from India, China announced a ban on entry of British nationals into China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban would also apply to those currently holding a valid visa or residence permits. China has also barred arrivals from Belgium and Philippines in order to safeguard against cross-border transmission. Meanwhile, Chinese and foreign nationals heading to China from or via Belgium, are required to take nucleic acid and IgM anti-body tests and then apply for a certified health declaration form before boarding the flight.

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India's COVID cases fall

The number of active cases of COVID-19 has been less than 6 lakh for seven consecutive days with 27 states and UTs having less than 20,000 active cases, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. The declining trend of the active cases is complemented by the unbroken increase, the day on day number of recovered cases, the ministry said. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 83,64,086 and the death toll climbed to 1,24,315 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 704 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country.

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India had first banned all travel to Wuhan - where the virus was first discovered in early January.  India evacuated around 650 of its citizens from China, along with seven Maldivians in February, before the nationwide 3-week lockdown was put in place. While China claims to have no new COVID cases, a second wave of cases has hit Europe - including UK, Germany and US - witnessing a steep increase in cases.