Arunachal Pradesh bans entry of foreigners over coronavirus fears

State chief secretary Naresh Kumar directs officials to temporarily stop issuing Protected Area Permits, days after Sikkim announced similar curbs.

Foreign tourists wear masks at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra amid the coronavirus threat | ANI file photo

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners to check the spread of coronavirus, officials said on Sunday.

Foreigners require PAPs to enter the state that shares a border with China.

Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar directed all PAP issuing authorities to suspend the issue of permits till further orders, they said.

“It is learnt that Covid-19 positive cases have been detected in India and the numbers have been increasing. It is also learnt that the spread of the coronavirus in India is primarily from visitors who had history of travelling abroad recently or through tourists who have visited India,” the government order said.

“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)…,” it added.

The move comes days after Sikkim announced similar curbs on visit of foreigners. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has also shut its borders to foreign visitors for two weeks in an effort to limit the impact of the disease.

The virus that first emerged in China in December last year has spread to 97 countries and has infected 102,180 people, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus tracker. More than 3,500 people have been killed due to the virus so far.