All travelers must “strictly adhere” to quarantine guidelines and other rules.
India is reopening its borders to international visitors in a bid to revive economic growth, even as the South Asian nation battles the world’s second-worst coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using a dip in new Covid-19 infections to pull the economy out of a tight lockdown, welcoming foreigners on business trips, but not tourists.
While scheduled regular commercial flights remain off limits for the time being, foreign travelers can use other options, including flights under a government repatriation program, so-called air bubble deals and private charter flights, the Ministry of the Interior in a statement Thursday. . Boats will also be allowed. All travelers must “strictly adhere” to quarantine guidelines and other rules.
The surprising decision comes after the number of daily infections in India dropped to around 55,000 from nearly 100,000 last month. A panel of government scientists said this week that the nation may have seen a spike in new infections and could contain the outbreak in February. But critics have attributed that decline to lower rates of testing as the disease spreads to the vast interior of the country.
Conferences, Study
All existing visas, except electronic, tourist and medical, will be reinstated immediately, the government said. People who have expired visas can apply again and foreigners who wish to visit for business, conferences, work, study, research or medical reasons will be able to apply, the government said.
India may not be the only one welcoming foreigners amid a worsening outbreak. Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the nation with the worst outbreak in that region, is also considering reopening borders, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a briefing on Thursday.
Indonesia reported 4,432 new cases in the 24 hours to noon Thursday, the most since October 11, bringing the total to 377,541.
India has expanded a government repatriation program to allow private carriers, including InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.’s IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd., to operate such flights with special permission. The nation has also reached air bubble agreements with 18 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Afghanistan, and Canada.
India’s blockade at the end of March was the largest in the world and one of the most severe, causing the economy to contract approximately 24% in the quarter ending in June from a year earlier, as businesses were demolished. and jobs. Once restrictions were relaxed, authorities struggled to control the pandemic with the number of infections now second only to the US.
India has also allowed local airlines to fly on limited hours since May. But most carriers didn’t fill even 70% of their seats last month, as passengers remained wary of contracting the deadly virus. Prime Minister Modi’s administration has set aside around 500 billion rupees ($ 7 billion) to vaccinate the world’s most populous nation after China, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
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