New Delhi, March 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) India's response to the COVID-19 has been pre-emptive, pro-active. India had already put in place a comprehensive response system at its borders much before WHO declared it as a public health emergency of international concern on January 30.
Timeline of the decisions taken by the Indian government so far:
? January 17: Advisory issued to avoid travel to China
? January 18: Thermal screening started of passengers from China and Hong Kong.
? January 30: Strong advisory issued to avoid travel to China.
? February 3: E-visa facility suspended for Chinese citizens.
? February 22: Advisory issued to avoid travel to Singapore; Universal screening for flights from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
? February 26: Advisory issued to avoid travel to Iran, Italy and Republic of Korea. Passengers coming from these countries to be screened, and may be quarantined based on screening and risk assessment.
? March 3: Suspension of all visas for Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan and China; Compulsory health screening for passengers arriving directly or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan.
? March 4: Universal screening of all International Flights. Quarantine or isolation at home or sent to hospital based on screening and risk profile
? March 5: Passengers from Italy or Republic of Korea need to get medical certificate before entry
? March 10, Home isolation: incoming international passengers should self-monitor health and follow government Dos and Don'ts: passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany to undergo home quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival
? March 11: Compulsory Quarantine- Incoming travellers (including Indians) arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after February 15 shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days.
? 16, 17, 19 March- Comprehensive advisory:
. March 16: Expanded compulsory quarantine for travellers from or through UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait for a minimum of 14 days.
Travel of passengers from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and United Kingdom to India totally prohibited
. March 17: Travel of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines, Malaysia prohibited
. March 19: All Incoming international flights suspended, with effect from 22nd March
. March 25: Extension of suspension of all incoming International Flights to India extended till April 14.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz