Arunachal Pradesh, which shares border with China, issues PAPs to foreigners for their entry into the state. (Photo Credit: IANS File)
New Delhi:
The government of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday decided to suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar has directed authorities to temporarily suspend the issuance of PAPs. Arunachal Pradesh, which shares border with China, issues PAPs to foreigners for their entry into the state.
“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’s order reads.
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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).”
Earlier, Sikkim also made a similar announcement in order to curb the footfalls of foreigners in the state. Bhutan too has decided to shut its borders for a time period of two weeks to limit the impact of coronavirus.
Moreover, the number of coronavirus cases in India has gone up to 39 with five of them coming up from Kerala on Sunday.
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Coronavirus, which 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.
In China alone, the death count from the new coronavirus rose to 3,097 on Sunday. Over 20,500 patients are still undergoing treatment and 57,065 discharged after recovery, the China’s National Health Commission said.
(With PTI inputs)
